Not a perfect world
by Ireland1
Summary: Revamped! Jack discovers something Irina hid from him. And its one of the keys to unlock Irina's secrets. JI, SV.
1. Prologue

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters nor do I profit when I write these stories. Thank you…

A/N- this is my first fanfic for Alias. Please review and I'll gladly take the (harsh) criticism. This is set after season 3. I've revamped it a bit to be in tune with the Season three, except for one minor thing, Sloane is still EVIL!

~~~~~~~~~

Sydney was sitting comfortably in her recliner, sipping tea. It was 6.30 in the morning and has half an hour before she was needed at work. She was to go through hypno-therapy session to determine whether she had encountered a metal prison in a forest and if so, in what forest and in what country.

Dixon, apparently, had received an Intel regarding a girl prophesized by Rambaldi. It was said that the girl may or may not fulfill the "prophesy", because it will depend on whom she will be with. The girl, was first brought into the prison almost one and a half years ago, was occasionally transported in and out of the prison. It only stopped 6 months ago. The ending of the transportation of the girl coincided with the ceasing of the assassinations of agents working undercover The Covenant. The metal prison was said to be located in Germany. 

If connected to her disappearance, Sydney will be able to remember the metal prison, and can give them more information. If not; they will go with what's inside the report.

'Another job I can't say no to.' Sydney thought as she set down the mug and leaned on her chair. She closed her eyes and tried to relax.

*********

Under hypnosis, Sydney remembered an Alcatraz-like fortress in the middle of the forest, with a surveillance room, booby-trapped surroundings and five armed guards. She also remembered seeing a girl inside this metal box. The metal doors and its security system were so sophisticated, that the only way to get in was to disable the surveillance room, from the inside.

With the added information from Sydney, a team was arranged to recover the girl. They assigned Agents Weiss, Bristow and Bristow for the job. Father and daughter were to go to the metal prison while Weiss will disable the surveillance. The latter part of the team was to secure the "fortress" after the 3 agents had gotten the girl. 

Everything was set.

~~~~~~~~~

**__**

GERMANY

"Okay baby bear, you and father bear are clear." Weiss said to Sydney through the earpiece. They were in Germany, and Weiss had already disabled the surveillance in, and around the fortress. 

"Roger to that." Sydney replied. Father bear was Jack Bristow's call sign for this mission. Both father and daughter slowly went inside the building, with Jack guarding her back and Sydney watching his front. They finally reached the entrance for the mess hall, where the metal prison was kept.

"Wait, there's someone coming to your left" Weiss warned Sydney and Jack a few minutes after they had entered the maze-like halls.

Sydney and Jack both disabled the guard and proceeded to their destination. When they reached the somewhat dark mess hall, they were astonished to find three other guards' unconscious, shot with a tranquilizer while the last of the men, was struggling with a girl.

"Sydney, secure the prison and check if that is the girl we are looking for." Jack ordered her as he proceeded to disarm the remaining guard. The girl was still throwing punches, still running with adrenaline. She punched Jack straight in the jaw. He was having a hard time containing the girl, scrawny she may be. Sydney rushed to help her father.

"Sorry, this might hurt." She told the girl as she tranquilized her. The squirming body suddenly became limp under Jack's arms.

"She's the girl, I got everything that might be her possession or might help us identify who she is." Sydney said, gasping for air. The girl was really hard to restrain.

"Weiss, we got her." Sydney said to her earpiece. Jack was carrying the girl.

'Yes, baby bear. The recovery team is on their way." Weiss replied. Sydney and Jack were already leaving the building. They were going home.

(A/N next chapter…)


	2. chapter one

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters nor do I profit when I write these stories. They're owned by ABC, Touchstone Television and JJ Abrams. Thank You… 

****

CHAPTER ONE

~~~~~~~~~

**__**

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA

A WEEK LATER

"The girl will be transferred to a safe house here in LA." Dixon informed them as they sat down in the briefing room. The mission in Germany turned out well and they succeeded in to bringing the girl back to LA with them.

"Did you get anything from her?" Jack asked.

"Not yet. She's still slipping in and out of consciousness. But the doctors say that her condition has stabilized and that she can be transferred to our safe house." Dixon replied.

"What about the things I took from the prison? Does it say anything about who she is and what she did?" Sydney asked. She was interested in the girl who socked her father in the jaw.

"I'm still looking for some transmitters and the those kinds of things. But what I can tell you this is that she's… uh… she can speak a lot of languages based on the pieces of paper I've found in the bag. What I've bought here today are, uh… … a… part of what she scribbled on those papers." Marshall said as he gave them copies of the papers.

"I'm still trying to translate the others but… what I've given you has the original language on the left side and the translations on the other side." Marshall explained, showing them the versions on slides.

"'_Giusta vel ingiust, temenda est.' _Fair of unfair, we must take heed." Vaughn said, saying one of the entries aloud.

"Luca Landucci." Sydney replied. When the others just looked at her like she just spoke an unknown language, she continued. "During the Catholic Reformation, there were lots of religion related wars and he, Landucci, tried to control his fellow supporters." She continued.

"So does that mean she was being controlled?" Weiss asked.

"Probably. But for all we know, she might be aware of what she was doing." Jack replied.

"But there is more, uh… there were references to a book made in the 1800's by an Asian hero. Uhm... the National hero of the Philippines, to be exact." Marshall said as he checked his notes.

"Uh… '_Noli Me Tangere'_? It means 'Touch Me Not' in English. Uhh… it was a book by Jose Rizal and uh… it was about two lovers in the 1800's but there were also references to the oppression of the Filipinos during the Spanish Colonization."

"So, almost all of the scribbles were about oppression and controlling?" Jack asked.

"Uhmm… well, all of the samples of the scribbles that I gave you have 'oppression' written on them, so I guess… yes?" Marshall replied.

Dixon looked at them and just nodded his head. He doesn't want to trust an unknown person again.

"Oh, I found this on one of the secret pockets of the bag, and, uh… I checked it for transmitters, bugs, uhh… it's clean." He said as he showed them a ruby, set on silver, with a silver chain.

All of them, except Jack, looked at the jewelry with interest. To Marshall, the expression on Jack's face was a mixture of surprise, agony and anger. He doesn't know why he'd react like that to a necklace. Vaughn noticed this too.

"Syd, I'm going to ask you to be the one who will ask the girl the questions." Dixon said to her, resuming the 'talk'

"Why?" she asked back.

"Well, since you're a woman and our 'ward' is a teenage girl, I think it's proper to introduce her to someone of the same gender. Our psychiatrist suggested it." Dixon answered. 

She took a deep breath "Fine. But if she doesn't want to talk to me, find another one whom she will want to talk to. Because frankly, I don't want to take part in grilling an innocent girl until she breaks down."

"Don't be so sure of her innocence. She might be the very person who killed five CIA agents. Five of the best. And, to help you in asking questions is your father. When she wakes up, I want you to go immediately to the safe house and see her." Dixon said as he stood up and went out of the room. Marshall followed him out.

Sydney took a deep breath and lifted her chin, a sign of stubbornness that she displayed even when she was a little girl.

Jack glanced at his daughter. "Are you up for it?" Jack asked Sydney.

"Yes. I'm up for it." She replied and smiled at him. Jack took one last look at his daughter as he stood up to leave. It left Sydney alone with Michael Vaughn.

"I'm really sorry about Lauren's dad." Sydney said. Lauren's father, Senator Reed, committed suicide a week before. Vaughn talked to her about seeking divorce from his wife but that tragic incident brought him back to Lauren's arms.

Vaughn nodded. Sydney looked at him, sensing that he is troubled.

"How are they doing? Lauren and her mom?" she asked.

"They're doing fine. I think…" Vaughn replied.

"Vaughn? What's wrong?" she asked.

"Nothing. Lauren just has trouble dealing with her dad's death and all of that. Its troubling me. Because they are a bit estranged."

"Maybe its because she's feeling sorry that she didn't try to rebuild their relationship before her father died." Sydney said, offering an explanation.

"I hope that's it." Vaughn said as he stood up. He has a weird feeling regarding Lauren's behavior. He will try to forget what he believes he had seen inside his house but if the feelings still subsist, he will resort to bugging the whole house.

****

FIVE DAYS LATER

The girl woke up.

Sydney and Jack were inside an SUV, on their way to the CIA safe house. It was far from the office but the house really blends in the background. It was situated in a well-off neighborhood in the city and is really what we can call a mansion. It was perfect place to hide somebody who was not really looked for in the United States. Both of them were not wearing any formal suits and looked like visiting an old friend.

The SUV stopped at the back of the house and the agents made them enter through the back door. The surveillance room was located at the middle of the house and at the basement.

"Who will be the person who will ask the questions to the girl?" Agent Marlowe asked. He was in-charge of security.

"That would be me." Sydney replied. She was wearing baby tees and blue denim pants.

Agent Marlowe looked at her and motioned Sydney to follow him. Sydney followed. Jack stayed behind and looked at surveillance monitor. 

Inside the surveillance room, Jack tried to understand the blueprint of the house. He knew that the house has a covered court with a swimming pool inside and a garden. The house might be situated in a wealthy neighborhood but with the open space the house has, any person can come in and take the girl. Jack also asked some questions about the girl.

"Did the girl exhibit any remarkable abilities?" Jack asked. He knew he was being vague but he can't explain the whole situation to the agent.

"Uh… like what, sir?" the agent replied. He was a young man in his late twenties and the one who gave Jack something to sit on.

"Never mind. Did she ever mention her name or any name for that matter?" Jack asked.

"Uh… no sir. She switches languages and we can't really understand what she says or what language she was speaking.

Jack nodded his head and looked at the monitor. Sydney already went inside the room to talk to the girl

****

Sydney walked inside the room that serves as the "living room" of the safe house. Seated at the sofa was a girl of about 17 to 18 years old, who had brown hair and brown eyes. She still had bruises in her face and bandages for her wounds but there was something familiar about her. She was put on weight the last time Sydney saw her, which was good because she looked really ill when they 'rescued' her in Germany. 

Sydney sat down on the chair near the sofa. She didn't want to alienate the girl by acting like her sister or something.

"My name's Sydney Bristow, I'm an employee of the CIA. I'm here to ask you a couple of questions."

The girl looked at Sydney with her dark brown eyes. To Sydney, the gaze looked so familiar. She just doesn't know why. She took a deep breath and looked at the girl again, this time, intending to ask a question.

"Uh… can you tell us your name?" She asked. 'Lousy one, but it's the most practical of all the questions she thought up' she told herself. The girl looked at her with raised eyebrows after a few minutes.

"Why do you want to have it?" the girl asked. She has a British accent that is not so heavy, charming in fact, making her understand every word she said.

"Because if I don't know your name, I'll not know how to call you." Sydney replied patiently, like a teacher to a pre-schooler.

"And because you want to know what I was doing inside a metal box in the middle of the forest." she answered back. She glanced at Sydney again, this time, tucking her hair behind her ear. 

"If you don't want to tell us your name, your mother's name perhaps?" Sydney asked. If she doesn't want to give her name, ask a name of a family member.

The girl thought for a while, "No, I'll just tell you my name. First name, Agent Bristow, not the last. I've been discriminated in the past because of my last name." The girl replied. She was holding back but was starting to like Sydney and her perseverance. She thought for a while, though. She might be bringing herself to the arms of the enemy. After a few minutes, she finally spoke.

"It's Paris, Parisenne, if you want the whole name but they normally call me Paris." She said, tilting her head to the right. 

"Are you sure that's your real name you're giving?" Sydney asked. She doesn't want to be duped.

"Yes. My mom told me that Paris was my father's favorite place to visit when they were still married." She added.

"Your father's deceased?" Sydney asked.

"No. But I haven't met him or my mom's other child. She did tell me that they were still alive. But that was about five years ago. I don't even know if my mother is still alive." Paris replied. She was opening up to Sydney.

"Do you know where they are right now?" Sydney asked. There was something about the girl's answer that gives a nagging feeling in the pit of her stomach.

"I think I did. I forgot… I think." She looked at Sydney, raising her eyebrows again.

"Why are you asking me these questions anyway? And why keep me here?" Paris asked.

"Because your life may be in danger." Sydney replied.

"So I'm not getting out soon?" Paris asked again.

"Yes." Sydney said.

"Well in that case, may I have something to read?" Paris asked.

"Uhh… okay, I'll ask them if you can have some books" Sydney answered. Then, her pager beeped. She took it out and read the message. She and her father were being called back to the office. 

"Uh… I'll be back in about… three days." Sydney told her. She was sounding like the CIA psychiatrist. With that, she stood up and left the room.

'Better ask dad about what his impressions are.' Sydney thought as she walked out of the room.

****

"I can't really figure out why the girl's eyes looked so familiar" Sydney said. They were on their way back to the office.

"Maybe you've seen each other?" Her father said. There is the probability of Sydney and Paris meeting each other albeit as mind-controlled robots. 

'It was really unusual,' he thought, 'the girl, having the name of Paris, and his daughter, having the name of Sydney, both places. And the necklace…' his mind began to think of possibilities when Sydney interrupted his thoughts.

"Dad, were here."


	3. chapter two

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters nor do I profit when I write these stories. They're owned by ABC, Touchstone Television and JJ Abrams. Thank You… 

****

CHAPTER TWO

The following weeks made Sydney feel like a science geek who was always going to the biggest museum everyday. She wants to know more about the girl who managed to evade every question she throws to her about her family and had perfect scores on all tests they gave her, written and physical. She also told Paris to call her by her first name. Sydney.

There were days wherein they went to the safe house only to observe the girl. They listened as she sang nursery ryhmes in other languages and rapped (and swore) with Eminem. When watching the television, she watches Discovery Channel and the National Geographic Channel. She was doing almost everything a normal person would do except cook. Never in their observing days did she cook in the kitchen.

Jack, sometimes, would go alone to the safe house to observe and ask the questions he didn't ask when Sydney was around. He found out that Paris sometimes wakes up at odd hours in the morning and chews on ice cubes. He found out that she'd rather watch Art Attack than MTV, Gosford Park than South Park and listen to Josh Groban than to Korn. 'Whoever they are…' he thought. He also found out that she loves to read books. Any kind of books.

In the office, Marshall told them that the things in Paris' bag were clean and that it can be returned to its owner. It wasn't necessary for Sydney to personally deliver it to her but she volunteered anyway. However, Jack asked the responsibility of giving back to Paris the necklace.

The following day, Sydney and Jack went back to the safe house. They were not required to report to the office so they have the whole day with the girl. When they arrived there, Agent Marlowe told them that Paris was in the covered court, playing basketball. Jack told her that he'd be in the surveillance room; Sydney then proceeded to the court.

When Sydney arrived there, she found Paris playing basketball. Every shot she took went in. It was amazing.

Paris noticed her and stopped playing. She went towards Sydney.

"Hey. Care to play?" Paris asked. She was wearing a white t-shirt with blue shorts and a pair of Nike's.

"Uhm… Sure." She replied. Sydney was astounded with Paris' resemblance to a younger Irina Derevko. The bruises and bandages on Paris' face were gone. Instead, Sydney saw her mother's cheekbones, her nose, her lips, her jaws. It was like looking at a clone. 

She gave no attention (not yet) to the similarities of facial attributes Paris and Irina have. Instead, she made a mental note that she was dressed like she was going jogging and that she can play basketball. 

Sydney took the ball and started dribbling. They had a thirty-minute game and she lost to Paris, 10-33. Paris was very good.

While Sydney and Paris were playing basketball, Jack was asking questions to the agents about the girl who, now Jack realized, one of his innermost fears. 

Irina Derevko's daughter. 

Paris smiled at Sydney as if she can read what Sydney was thinking. She went to the table and sat on the chair. Sydney did the same.

"Where did you learn to play like that?" Sydney asked.

"Back at home. I used to play with the guys in the gym. They valued my skills very much." Paris said. Sydney doesn't know whether to believe her or not.

"Really… Uh... after all these weeks, I forgot to ask you how old you are." Sydney said. She was discreetly starting to ask questions again. Paris pursed her mouth and raised an eyebrow. She then gave Sydney a small smile.

"If this is the year and month I think it is, then, I'm going to turn 23 this June." Paris replied. Sydney was a bit surprised with Paris' answer. She looked younger than twenty-two years old.

"What's with your face?" Paris asked, amused with Sydney's facial expression.

"Nothing, you just look younger than twenty two years old." Sydney replied. Then, it struck her. Paris is seven years younger than she is. 'Can it be possible that Paris mother is also my mother and her father, my father?' Sydney asked herself.

Paris, noticing Sydney's lost look, replied, "You know, you're not really the first person to tell me that I look young for my age, so stop looking at me like I'm a lab rat or something." 

"Sorry." Sydney said. Paris really looked like Irina and knowing her father, he might act indifferent to Paris when he gives back the necklace.

There were a few minutes of silence. It was like they were resting and relaxing their minds.

"You know, you look a lot like my mom." Paris said. It was true. Agent Sydney Bristow looked a lot like her mother and she doesn't know why she felt comfortable with her. It was like she met a sister.

"Really? I do?" Sydney asked. She looked at Paris and smiled.

"Yes. You look a lot like her. You could pass of as her daughter, as my sister. What do you want to ask me anyway? I've thought about what Agent Marlowe told me earlier and I guess it'll not hurt if I tell you something…" Paris said. She was now certain that they were not the enemy.

"It's okay with you?" Sydney asked. Things are opening up. And it was only 10 in the morning. 

"Yes. It's okay. If I can't remember or if I don't know what you're asking, then I can't tell you anything" Paris replied.

"Okay… so, where did you study? Or are you supposed to be still studying?" Sydney asked.

"I've already graduated from Cambridge University. I've finished my Master's work in Ancient History and I was working in the British Museum as the assistant curator before I woke up in a metal box in Germany." Paris answered.

"Really? I can't really imagine…" Sydney replied.

"Really, I've already graduated. I was told that I have an IQ of 190, which explains why I was the youngest person to graduate in the batch." Paris said.

"190? You're IQ's 190? What was your rank when you graduated?" Sydney asked her again.

"Uhmm… Magna cum Laude. My mother didn't show up when I graduated, I felt hurt with that incident." Paris said, shaking her head. It brought back some memories she'd rather forget. 

"Did your mother approve when you got the job at the British Museum?" Sydney asked. Paris was too young to have that kind of job; it takes her to places that sometimes are dangerous for a twenty-year old girl.

"Yes, she did. She told me that it was like being a teacher. She was a teacher before she became _self-employed_…" Paris replied, putting a stress on the word self-employed.

"Self-employed? She runs her own company?" Sydney asked again.

"You can say that." she replied. There was something in Paris' voice that told Sydney that she wasn't telling everything. There was a pause again. Both of them had memories they can't remember and some they want to forget. 

"Do you want to tell us your last name?" Sydney asked. Paris looked at her and gave her an uncertain smile.

"If I do tell you my last name, don't get excited… in a weird kind of way, okay?" she asked Sydney. She knew that the conversation is being taped and that they were, being watched.

"Of course." Sydney replied. 'Now, what did she mean with that?' she asked herself as she was watching Paris take a deep breath.

"It's… Derevko" 


	4. chapter three

Disclaimer: I'm not profiting when u write these stories and I don't own any of the characters. They're owned by JJ Abrams, ABC and Touchstone. Thank You…

A/N- This is where the fun starts! Enjoy!

****

CHAPTER THREE

"Derevko?" Sydney repeated. Her head was still reeling from the shock, but, she didn't show it.

"Yes, I took my mom's last name since she doesn't want to give my father's name." Paris replied in a docile tone.

"You're mother is Irina Derevko?" Sydney asked in an even voice. She didn't want to believe it. This girl, is her sister? Even if her thoughts a while ago made her comfortable with the idea of having a sister, the truth coming out from Paris' mouth, it seemed so shocking. 

"Yes." Paris replied. She knew why Sydney reacted the way she did. Being CIA, she now knows that her mother's a terrorist. 'Who wouldn't be shocked?' she thought.

"Uhh… can you excuse me for a moment?" Sydney asked as she stood up and left the court. She went straight to the surveillance room to confront her father.

Jack, who was listening to the conversation, was stunned. He doesn't want to believe it. The necklace, the mannerism, Paris' stories about her mother. It was unbelievable and unacceptable. He doesn't want any part of this. It will lead to him, opening up old wounds and acquiring new ones. Irina Derevko was not here physically, but she still managed to hurt the people who loved her.

"What was that all about?!" Sydney asked as she barged in the room. Jack was already standing, waiting for her to arrive.

"Whatever that was, I will not take part in it." He replied. Women who looked like the Laura, the woman he loved so much but seems to have the determination of Irina Derevko, surround him.

"Dad, I'm not asking you if you want to be part of it! I just want to know if you knew." Sydney said. The volume of her voice was slowly creeping up.

"If I knew back then, then I would have told you, wouldn't I?" Jack asked. Sydney just looked at him with dubious eyes.

"We don't even know if she's your whole sister." Jack said again. He didn't want to talk about this anymore. He can't accept the fact that this girl is his youngest child.

"Well we do know she's the daughter of Irina Derevko don't we?! Dad, she was born almost eight months after mom disappeared, didn't it cross your mind that she might be your daughter?!" Sydney replied. 

"She has a British accent, for crying out loud!" Her father said.

"Mom doesn't even have a Russian accent! Dad, you're not thinking straight!" Sydney answered back.

While father and daughter were fighting, Paris was sitting where Sydney left her. She was thinking about what just happened. 

After she told Sydney that her last name was Derevko and that her mother was Irina Derevko, she saw a flick of shock, hurt, amazement, all rolled in one. 

'I think it's because she is somehow related to mom' Paris thought 

'Duh! She looks like your mother! Hello???? Maybe there is a possibility that your mother gave birth to a lot of children and decided to keep just you. Like some sort of a kitten!' Her inner child screamed. The part of her that she refused to listen to.

Tired of waiting after fifteen minutes, she rose up her seat and tapped one of the mirrors that were situated near the gym's exit.

"Uhh… hello? Can I go back to my room already?" She asked. Even if she was sure that the mirror was one of the surveillance cameras, she felt stupid doing what she just did. Nobody seemed to care, so she went to her room to go take a shower.

Back in the surveillance room, Jack and Sydney resisted the temptation of having a shouting match at their places. It will be embarrassing to the other agents and to them. They do these things in private. Right.

"Dad, I'm going to leave you her things. I didn't get the chance to give it her so if you can kindly be the one to give it back." Sydney said as she went out of the room. 

Jack just looked at Sydney's retreating back and then to the bag she left in the table. He doesn't want to give it to Paris. 'You could always hand it to Agent Marlowe and tell him to give it to Paris.' He thought. But part of him wants to talk to the girl face to face and see for himself another variation of Irina's face.

"Where's Paris?" he asked the agent, who was sitting in front of the surveillance screen, when he couldn't see any sign of the girl in the basketball court.

"Uh… she went back to her room to take a shower, sir. She asked our permission first before she proceeded. It was like she knew where the cameras were situated." The agent replied. But nobody answered him. Jack was already out of the room and on his way to Paris' room.

****

Jack knocked on Paris' door and was let in after a few minutes. Paris has just finished taking a shower.

Paris has never seen Jack before but she immediately surmised that he was Sydney's father. Sydney did tell her that her father also works with the Agency.

"Uhh… Mr. Bristow, right? Uhh… please, sit down." She said. 

"Thank you." Jack replied. He was a bit frightened because Paris looked like Irina when they first met. But…

"How can I help you, sir?" Paris asked. Mr. Bristow was looking at her like she was some sort of ghost.

"You look very much like your mother." Jack said. So what if he didn't answer the question? 

"That's what they say. But my mom told me that I have my father's eyes." Paris replied as she nodded her head. Where Mr. Bristow met her mother, she did not know. But she has some ideas.

"Is that so?" Jack replied. So, that was what's bothering Sydney. The eyes looked familiar because Paris Derevko's eyes also belonged to Jack Bristow.

"I have some of your things." He said as he gave Paris her bag. 

"Thank you" Paris said as she received the bag. She smiled a little at Jack and sat down next to him.

"Uh… this too." He said as he took out from his pocket a small box. It was the necklace and he placed it inside its original container. He gave the necklace to Irina when they were still married and were having a vacation in Paris, France. This was where he told her that Paris was his favorite place to visit.

Paris looked at the box and took it from him. She opened it and saw her mother's necklace.

"Oh… thank you. It was my mother's." She said as she smiled again at Jack. She put it on and was thinking how the guards in Germany missed this precious possession.

"You've never met your father?" Jack asked. It was a redundant inquiry, Sydney already asked that question. He just wanted to know if Irina gave the necklace to Paris so that she can forget about Jack and Sydney. 

Paris looked at him with a facial expression that said were-you-not-listening-a-while-ago? "Uh… no, and my mom didn't want to give his name or my other sibling. She told me that I might harm myself if ever I look for them. But, I did some… research." 

"Research? Weren't you an Assistant Curator for the British Museum?" Jack asked.

"Yes. But I do have the Internet. You can just type in the name and gather a lot of people with names that are the same with yours." She replied. She herself had tried that but came up with nothing.

"When did she give you that necklace?" he asked. 'When you were born?' he thought. He was so sure that Irina gave the necklace to Paris so that she can erase a part of an illusion of that she had for ten years.

"When I turned sixteen. Mom told me that the necklace was the only memory of my father she can give me. It was also the time when she told me that my father was still alive and that I have a sister. I learned about the whole truth later on." Paris replied. She discovered the truth when the director of her division assigned her the job of killing "The Man".

"Did she try to dissuade you from asking about your father or sister?" Jack asked. He wants to believe that what Irina said about her love for Jack and Sydney was not a lie.

"No. How can she, when she told me countless times that I have my father's eyes?" Paris asked. She was getting suspicious. Mr. Bristow's questions were all related to her mother.

"Mr. Bristow, did my mother seduce you?" Paris asked, bravely, her accent, now prominent.

There was a pause. The question surprised them both. Thoughts in Paris' head were buzzing. 'This man commanded respect. How can she ask that question?' she told herself.

'Was I that obvious?' Jack thought. He mentally hit himself in the head. 'What is he going to answer to that question?'

"A friend of mine was, actually. He died already." Jack answered, maintaining a straight but serious face. He thought he was going to be exposed to Paris, but she bought the lie.

"Okay. You look kind of familiar, though." She said. It was true. She feels like she had seen Jack Bristow before. She just doesn't know where. Then, Jack's cellular phone rang. It was Sydney. She told him that it was imperative that he go to the office, now. Jack said goodbye and went out. He felt relieved. He didn't know that there's another surprise waiting for him in the office.

*********

"Irina Derevko turned herself in?!" Jack asked Dixon, unbelievingly. They were inside Dixon's office. Dixon called him to tell him that the number six most wanted terrorist has turned herself in again for the second time around.

"She's a walk-in. She says that she's going to talk, if and only if, she will be able see her daughters." Dixon replied. "That's part of the agreement. She can also help us in some covert mission against The Covenant. She's agreed to help.

"Are you sure its not an elaborate plan to deceive the CIA again?" Jack asked. Yes, he and Irina had collaborated together to find Sydney. Yes, they have slept together every time they meet. And yes, he protected her from the CIA inquisition that led to him being sent to solitary confinement. But that doesn't mean that he fully trusts her. She is still hiding secrets from him. From them.

"I don't think so. She gave us all the names of her contacts, including her operations manual." Dixon answered and showed him a folder full of names and addresses. 

"This is the original. The names are being verified." Dixon said. He stood up and looked at Jack. "She said daughters. Is the girl we have in protection her daughter?"

"Yes, apparently." Jack answered.

"Is she yours?" Dixon asked.

"That I don't know." Jack replied. He stood up. "Is she still being held in the same place?" he asked Dixon.

"Yes. You're cleared to see her."

"Thank you." Jack said and went out of the room. He's going to have a little chat with his ex-wife.

****

"What do you mean my mom's here?" Paris asked Sydney. They were in the living room of the safe house.

"Your mother turned herself in. But she's a walk-in, meaning…" The girl interrupted Sydney.

"I know what walk-in refers to. Why? Why turn her self in?" Paris asked.

"She wants to see her daughters." Sydney replied. She saw a flick of surprise in Paris's eyes.

"Daughters?" Paris asked. "You're my sister?" She said in a surprised tone.

"Yeah. You're mother is also my mother. But I don't know if we have the same father." 

"Bristow?" Paris asked, as if trying to remember something. She closed her eyes and sighed. "Oh god. Why did I forget?"

Sydney let her be. Who wouldn't be shocked that people who saved her were actually her relatives?

"Your name was there. I should have remembered it! Why am I not remembering anything I've done?!?!?!!" Paris ranted. She sat down and buried her face in her hands.

"You can't remember anything at all?" Sydney asked quietly.

"Yes. This is so stupid." Paris mumbled, looking at her. Tears were streaming in her eyes. "I can't remember anything after my graduation." She said and pounded the table with her fist.

"We hold a regression therapy if you want to."

"I don't know." Paris said, standing up. "Even if I've been missing for one and a half years, I still answer to my superiors." She said, her back, turned away from Sydney.

"Your superiors?" Sydney asked.

Paris looked at her. "I'm with the British Intelligence."

***

Jack entered the barred security gates of Irina Derevko's cell. He felt angry, betrayed but at the same time a nervous tinge at the pit of his stomach. He walked almost noiselessly, afraid that if he makes any noise, his ex-wife will see his very soul.

Irina was sitting at the center of the room, her back facing the glass pane. She heard the security gates clang shut and was thinking, 'Don't they ever stop?' She turned around to glare at the person but was surprised to see Jack. He was looking at her the way he did when they first saw each other for the first time in twenty years. She stood up and sauntered towards the glass pane. They stared at each other.

Jack looked at Irina and saw Sydney and Paris' faces. 

"She has your eyes." Irina said, breaking the silence. Jack said nothing. He saw it. Sydney noticed it.

"Every time I look at her eyes, it always felt like I was looking into yours." She continued, still looking at him, waiting for a reaction.

"Are you telling me that Paris, the girl we rescued in Germany, is my daughter?" Jack said.

"Why are you asking me questions to which you already know the answer?" Irina asked.

"Because I want to hear them from you. Or will you lie about this, too?" Jack answered.

"Yes, she is your daughter. She has your eyes, your passion. She has your calculating ways, your sensitivity. She also has your morbid sense of humor." Irina replied, a bit insulted. Why will she lie about her daughter?

"I wished you had told me earlier." Jack said gruffly and turned around and left.

Irina watched him go. She sighed while a question she tried to answer lingered in her mind.

'Why was I so afraid of telling him about her?'


	5. chapter four

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Alias or any of its characters. I don't profit when I make stories and post them here. They are owned by JJ Abrams, ABC and Touchstone. Thank you…

~~~~~~~~~

"This is so stupid." Paris mumbled, looking at her. Tears were streaming in her eyes. 

"I can't remember anything after my graduation." She said and pounded the table with her fist.

"We hold a regression therapy if you want to." Sydney said.

"I don't know." Paris said, standing up. "Even if I've been missing for one and a half years, I still answer to my superiors." She said, her back, turned away from Sydney.

"Your superiors?" Sydney asked.

Paris looked at her. "I'm with the British Intelligence."

CHAPTER FOUR

MI5 was informed that one of their assets was in CIA protection.

They asked for verification.

They took DNA tests, blood tests and an interview with one of her former superiors.

At the same time, the CIA also conducted their tests. It was learned that Jack Bristow was part of the creation of Paris Derevko. According to their tests, she is physically and mentally fit.

After three weeks, MI5 permitted the transfer of one of their best assets to the CIA.

"She's ours." Sydney heard Dixon say to the person in the other line as she entered his office. Dixon motioned her to sit down and tried to end his call.

"You wanted to see me?" Sydney said.

"Yes. Agent Derevko agreed to a hypno-therapy session. She's now downstairs. Can you please check on her after she's done? She's with Vaughn." Dixon said.

"That's all?" Sydney asked as she stood up.

Dixon nodded. Sydney smiled a bit then went out of the room. She went down to go to one of the testing rooms. When she entered, she found out that the session was about to finish. Her Vaughn's face looked grim.

"Vaughn, what is it?" She asked.

"She… they used her as a killing machine."

"Paris, when I count to five, you will feel awake and refreshed." Sydney heard the woman say. She began to count to five then turned to them.

"You can see her in a few minutes." The woman told them after she had counted. She left them to go to her 'patient'.

"She narrated how she killed the agents. But she was able to give a name and a place. She also said being ordered to kill petty crime lords and commit acts of violence, which includes killing large groups of people with another bunch of people watching." Vaughn said as they turned to look at the girl. Paris was looking at the woman with fear in her eyes. The woman looked at Vaughn and Sydney and motioned them to come in.

Sydney looked at her Vaughn then went in. He followed a while later.

She went towards Paris and stood by her chair.

"Paris? Are you okay?" Sydney asked. The girl shook her head. She was looking down. Then she looked up to Sydney.

She took a deep breath then stood up. She smiled a bit then told her, "I think I'm okay."

Sydney looked at her, weirdly. "Are you sure?" she asked. The abrupt change in the emotional state surprised her a bit.

"Yeah." Paris replied. She smiled, but it didn't quite reach her eyes.

"Uh… do you want something to eat?" Sydney asked, unsure of what to ask.

"Sure." Paris replied. Sydney and Vaughn then led her out.

Paris followed them. She didn't seem to notice the movement around her. 

'Damn, I was a killing machine.' She thought as she followed Sydney. Tears fell from her eyes but she quickly wiped them away. But as soon as she did that, a big ball of guilt formed in her throat. Her lower lip began to tremble.

Sydney looked back. She found that Paris was walking with her head down. She stopped and walked beside her. Vaughn slipped away quietly.

"Hey, its okay to cry." She said. Paris shook her head again.

Sighing, she put her arm around her shoulders. They walked in to the lounge, to get something to eat. That was where Paris broke down.

"I'm sorry, I can't help it." Paris said sobbing. They sat down in the chair.

"Its okay." Sydney said and went to the refrigerator. "Uh, we have coffee ice cream and some sandwich." 

She checked the sandwiches. "Tuna and chicken."

"Tuna and chicken?" Paris asked. Just as then, Jack went in the lounge.

"Hey dad." Sydney greeted. Jack acknowledged Sydney but not Paris. Paris ignored him and stopped crying. She doesn't want Agent Bristow to see her cry.

"What's that?" Jack asked, pointing to the sandwiches.

"Tuna and chicken sandwiches." Sydney answered and handed him the chicken sandwich. Jack is allergic to tuna.

"Thanks." Jack said and went out without saying goodbye.

"So, which will it be? Tuna, chicken or ice cream?" Sydney asked her sister.

"I'll take the tuna."

*****

A FEW DAYS LATER

Jack was going to see Irina. Sydney is in a mission and can't be reached. He was going to ask her what Paris's medication is to her allergies. A day after the hypno-therapy session, Paris suddenly acquired red spots in her face and arms and started vomiting. She refused to tell what she did, and refused to eat, saying that she can't breath, let alone eat.

The doctor said that she had an allergic reaction but since Paris declined to speak, they just gave something to soothe the itchiness.

The metal bars raised and opened. Jack walked towards the glass pane.

Irina was sitting on the floor, her eyes closed. Jack cleared his throat. She opened her eyes and saw Jack watching her. She stood up and went closer.

"What is it?" Irina asked

"Does Paris have allergies?"

"Yes. She's allergic to tuna, like you." Irina answered. "Why?"

"Tuna? Allergic to tuna?" Jack asked, incredulously. He remembered Sydney telling him that the allergic reaction to tuna must be a recessive trait since Paris can eat the type of fish.

"The same medication?" he asked. Irina nodded.

"But it can also help if you give her some of her favorite food." She added.

"Which are?"

Irina enumerated them. Jack nodded, then left.

He didn't say goodbye.

****

A couple days later, Paris was walking in the same corridor on her way to see her mother. Sydney didn't want to interfere with their meeting so she just left her on the doorway. She walked slowly, careful that she will not hit the metal bars that were rising and opening.

Her mother was waiting for her, standing near the glass.

Irina heard her daughter's voice. She wants to see her, to hug her. She left her three years ago when she turned herself in to the CIA, and she was on the run when she escaped. When it was okay for her to surface, Paris was missing.

She finally reached where her mother was standing. 

'God, she still looks the same.' Paris thought as she looked at her mother.

"Paris…" Irina started. Paris glared at her.

Irina sighed. 'She's still angry.'

"They said you wanted to see me." Paris started. Irina nodded. "Why?" her daughter asked.

"Just wanted to see if you're fine. Agent Bristow informed me that you had an allergic reaction." Irina answered, watching her daughter's face.

"I just tried to commit suicide. Apparently, it didn't work." Paris said, looking at her mother directly in the eye. Irina didn't say anything.

"Do you want to know why? Why I tried to kill myself?" Without waiting for Irina to answer, she continued, "Because I killed innocent people, for fun."

Irina looked down. She doesn't want to look at her daughter. It was partially her fault.

"I killed them even if they were already begging for their lives. I killed their children and wives even if they begged me not to. I was cruel. I was ruthless. Like you." Paris said, her voice, breaking.

Irina still didn't say anything.

"God, I'm not even sure if you're my mother. My mother wouldn't have disappeared on me before my graduation; my mother would have looked for me when I was missing. But did you do those things? No. I still don't even know where you were all those years."

"I was here." Irina said, raising her head up to look at her eyes.

"You were here." Paris repeated. "All those three years?" Paris asked.

"No, I escaped after six months. But I can't contact you. I can't implicate you. You're MI5. You have your responsibilities, I have mine."

"Yeah. Its your responsibility to abandon your family." Paris replied. Irina looked at her with traces of surprise in her face. "Do you think I don't know? What you did to Sydney and Agent Bristow?"

"Then you do know that they were going to be killed if I didn't obey my superiors?"

"Yes. But I do know that you shot Sydney in the shoulder, you betrayed Agent Bristow twice and you left them for Arvin Sloane. The utterly despicable Arvin Sloane." Paris answered and turned her back to her mother.

"I graduated top of my class, mom. I was made to deliver my speech and you were supposed to be congratulated by the Dean of my department. But you weren't there. I received stares of pity from my classmates and their parents. They comforted me, for something you didn't do. I didn't even have pictures."

Irina's eyes filled with tears. She once promised herself that she will right the wrongs she has done to Sydney and Jack through Paris. Love her, protect her and care for her. Raise a happy, well-educated adult with a spy-free life.

She has failed.

Not only did Paris end up working for the MI5 without her knowing, but also has discovered that her mother is one of the persons who can kill her. She grew up with an unnatural gift and was teased mercilessly for her intelligence.

"I'm sorry." Irina said. "I'm really, really sorry." Irina repeated. The tears spilled out of her eyes.

Paris glanced at her mother. She was crying. 'Oh my god, I made her cry.'

"I need to go." Paris said and turned to the guard at the other side of the corridor. After a few seconds, the metal bars began to rise up. She doesn't like seeing people cry. It's unnerving.

"Paris…" Irina said. Her daughter looked at her. She just stared. Paris went out, trying hard not to sob. But just like the other day, she broke down in tears.


	6. chapter five

Disclaimer: I don't profit when I write these stories, nor do I own them… wish they were, but what will I do with them?

****

CHAPTER FIVE

Irina sat down on her bed. Paris sometimes shows an aloof exterior, like her father does. But Paris also has Jack's very comforting smile. 'But she referred to him as Agent Bristow. Jack must have repelled her with his anti-Irina Derevko spirit.' She thought and shook her head. Yes, they had collaborated to find Sydney. But they still have misgivings and distrust with each other. Yes, they slept together. But that was out of desire, out of lust. Not love.

'Are you sure?' an inner thought asked. 'Are you sure that what you felt was lust and not love?' it asked. Irina loves Jack. She still is madly and deeply in love with him. But he hates her. He hates her so much that whenever he speaks to her, he doesn't look at her.

Irina closed her eyes. He doesn't know, and he might never know what I've been through so that they wont be harmed.

__

Kashmir, 1981

The whole room seems to taunt her. It has been three week since she was extracted but instead of returning to Russia, she was sent to Kashmir to be interrogated. Here, she was beaten, electrocuted starved. 

And she is pregnant.

She can hear someone approaching. She feigned sleep, curling herself into a ball, not caring if the cement floor is as cold as ice. She shivered, silent tears falling down her face.

The door to her prison opened. She tried hard to be still.

"Irina."

She recognized the voice. But she ignored him.

"Irina, I know you're awake." He said in Russian. Irina meekly sat up and came face to face with her twin brother. Danilov was three hours older than her, giving him the privilege of being the older brother. He is more ruthless, manipulative and violent. He is also one of the ranking officials in KGB. She looked at him, afraid that he would hit her.

Danilov, sensing and seeing the fear in his sister's eyes sighed and went closer. Irina instinctively cowered back. 

"Iri, I'm not going to hurt you." He said as he took her hands. They were wounded and bruised.

"Why are you here?" Irina asked, her voice, barely audible.

"I've come to take you home."

"Why? Am I not a traitor to this country?" Irina sarcastically asked.

Danilov rolled his eyes. His sister was born with an acid tongue.

"They were doubtful. Why did you resist your extraction?" he asked as he sat down.

"I can't leave my child and…"

"And your husband." He finished. Irina didn't reply.

Danilov sighed. Irina, being the youngest of them, is more prone to emotional attachments. He doesn't need to torture her to know that Irina loves the CIA agent they made her seduce and marry.

"Just tell them that it was a misunderstanding. That you misunderstood the order."

"Just please don't hurt them. Please Danilov, don't hurt them." Irina pleaded.

"Who said they will be?" he asked.

"Khasinau, Cuvee. All of them." Irina answered.

Danilov hugged her. "No one will. They already ordered that. They won't touch a hair in their heads, okay? Can you now tell them what you've gotten so that you can get out of here?"

"Danilov, I'm pregnant."

Her brother stiffened. "Are you sure?" he asked.

"Yes."

He looked at her and then kissed the top of her forehead. "I'll deal with them." He stood up and went out. She watched him go.

Danilov made it look like the baby was Khasinau's. He knew that her baby would be treated as a second-class citizen because her father is an American. 

An enemy. 

But they tried to raise her well and Danilov acted as Paris's surrogate father since Khasinau didn't want to pretend he has a child. Her grandparents protected her until their deaths and she was raised not knowing her father. Paris, unfortunately, grew up too fast.

*********

Paris walked out of the cell. She has just finished wiping her tears away and just want to leave. She looked around. Sydney was nowhere to be seen and she feels so out of place because, in the sea of black suits and ties, she's the only one wearing jeans and t-shirt. 

'I'm like a kid in an adult's world.' She thought as she smiled a bit to one of the employees.

She walked in the corridor looking for a familiar face when she heard someone talking with a British accent. She looked around and saw a blonde woman talking to Agent Vaughn. She looked familiar.

Paris tried to get a closer look. She doesn't know the woman but she was pretty sure that she has seen her before.

"I'm sorry, honey. I have a meeting. I promise I'll make it up to you." Lauren said to Vaughn as she touched his cheek. Vaughn smiled slightly and touched his wife's hands.

"Okay. Just be careful." 

Lauren smiled widely. She then felt someone looking at her way. She looked around and spotted a teenage girl watching them.

"Love, is the CIA recruiting minors?" Lauren asked Vaughn. Vaughn turned to where she was looking and saw Paris.

"Her name's Paris and she's not a teenager. She just looks like one. She's a new employee. Do you want me to introduce you to her? She's also British." Vaughn said. He didn't give any specific information about Paris or what she's in the CIA for. Lauren doesn't even know that Irina Derevko was in CIA custody.

"Maybe some other time, I'm already late for a meeting. She looks a lot like Sydney, though." Lauren said and kissed Vaughn in the cheek. "I'll see you later." She added and hurried off.

Paris watched as Lauren rushed to the elevator. She looked around and saw Weiss, who was reading something, coming her way.

"Hi. Agent Weiss, right?" Paris asked. Weiss looked up from what he was reading and looked at her. He smiled and nodded his head.

"Uhm… I just saw this blonde lady talk to Agent Vaughn and I was wondering if I should know who she is." Paris said and looked at Weiss earnestly.

"Blonde? It must be Lauren, his wife. She's with NSC." Weiss answered and shrugged. "I don't think you should get to know her. She has this rift with your sister." Weiss continued. He doesn't really like Lauren that much.

"Rift?" Paris asked. Weiss nodded his head. "I'll keep that in mind. By the way, do you know where Agent Dixon's office is located?"

"Uh, yeah, go straight up, second door to the left. His name in on the door."

"Thanks." 

*********

"Where have you been? I've been waiting for your call!"

"I'm sorry, love. But I'm still at home. Something came up in CIA's operations center. I'm just checking something out." Lauren said as she paced around their bedroom. She was talking in the cell phone.

"Why? What happened?" It was Sark.

"There's this girl. She was giving me this look. And she looks a bit familiar. Vaughn told me she's a new employee. But she looked like a kid."

"What are you doing then?" Sark asked as he opened a bottle of red wine.

"Checking her out. I mean aside from Michael, nobody really knows her name." 

"Well then, describe her." Sark said, forgetting to ask the girl's name.

"Well, she's as tall as Sydney, brown hair, brown eyes, wide shoulders. Actually, she has an uncanny resemblance to Bristow and Michael told me she's British." Lauren replied. She heard Sark coughing violently in the background.

"Are you okay?" she asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just choked on my drink." Sark answered in between coughs. "Did you say a British Sydney Bristow look alike?" he asked.

"Well, the more I think of it, she looks more like Irina Derevko."

Sark didn't answer.

"Are you still there?" Lauren asked.

"Yeah. Uh, I've sent you a photograph in your email." Sark said. "Is that the girl?" Sark asked as he heard a beep on the other line.

Lauren checked her inbox and scanned the picture. "Yeah that's her. Except she has a shorter hair." Lauren answered.

"Is her name by any chance, Paris?"

Lauren paused. "How did you know that?"

"Get out of there, now!" Sark said in an urgent tone.

"What? Why?"

"Just get out of there. Take everything; don't leave a trace. Meet me in Bern, I'll explain everything there." And with that, Sark ended the call.

He can't believe it, 'She's alive.' He thought and paced around the room. 'She's alive, and she's going to kill me.' He thought as he sat down his leather chair.

__

Acapulco, Mexico

June 3, 1998

Sark, wearing a blue polo and khaki pants, arrived in Irina's private beach house driving his red-hot sports car. He closed the door of his car and approached the front door.

He knocked. A few minutes later, a burly man appeared and let him in. He was led to the patio overlooking the beach.

"Hello, Julian. Its nice of you to join us." Irina said. Sark noticed that she was with her siblings, Katya, Dmitri, and her twin brother, Danilov. One was missing, though.

"Well, you convinced me to come." He answered and looked to the beach. He saw three figures running across the water, laughing. He recognized one of them and smiled.

"I thought she wasn't going to come if I didn't go." He said to Irina.

"Its her birthday. And besides, her cousins begged her to go. You do know her world will not stop for her best friend." Irina replied. Danilov laughed. 

"Go to her and say sorry. But then again, She might shoot you. She has her mother's temper, you know." Dmitri said. This time, Katya and Irina laughed.

"Shoot me?" Sark asked.

"She's working against her mother. But she doesn't know that." Danilov said.

"You know?"

"Of course we know. Though a bit late, that's why I brought her here. To let her see that going inside the espionage world will prevent her from doing the things she likes. Even if it's a bit manipulative of me to do that, I'll do whatever it takes to protect her." Irina said. Sark looked at her.

"Go and say hi." Irina said.

"What if she shoots me?" Sark asked.

"Julian, she's not going to shoot you in front of Andre and Daniela." Katya said as she drank her vodka.

Sark shrugged, and then went outside. He moved towards the water to greet Paris a happy sixteenth birthday. She saw him and gave him a wide smile, exposing her dimples.

"I thought you weren't going to come." Paris said and went to him. She was wearing short denim shorts over her blue bathing suit. Her skin was already golden brown.

"Your mother convinced me. She said that you will classify all the rocks you will find in this beach out of boredom if I will not come."

"I might have done that and maybe make a presentation about it and bore everyone to death. But now we can go shopping." She answered teasingly. "Come in the water, its warm."

"Maybe later, in the afternoon." Sark answered.

"There will be jellyfishes in the afternoon, Julian. Anyway, you're the one who's going to be stung." Paris said and smiled. She then went back to her cousins and resumed playing with them.

Sark watched first before he went back to the house to get his towel, strip into his swimming shorts and take off his Rolex watch.

He was going to swim this morning because he doesn't want to be stung by jellyfishes in the afternoon. Besides, he's going to go shopping later.

He looked at one of his paperweights, one of the things they bought in Acapulco. It was still with him. 'She's going to kill me.' He thought as he took his cell phone and dialed a number.

"Sir? I think we have a problem."


	7. chapter six

Disclaimer: I don't any of the characters, wished they were, but then, what will I do with them?

~~~~~~~

****

CHAPTER SIX

"Hi mom."

Irina opened her eyes and saw her youngest daughter standing in front of the glass. She smiled a bit, and then stood up to approach her.

"Hello, Paris. Does Agent Dixon need anything from me?" Irina asked. Paris shook her head.

"No, I just came to see you." Paris answered and smiled. It didn't quite reach her eyes.

Irina saw the sadness in her eyes. "Are you okay? You look… unhappy."

"Unhappy? ME? Haha. No, of course not." Paris answered and gave her a toothy grin she got from her father.

"Well then, how are things with your father and sister?"

"Uh… well, Sydney's in a mission. But she's very nice, funny, fun and cheerful and…"

"Okay… how about your father?" Irina asked.

"Agent Bristow's okay." Paris answered.

Her mother looked at her. Paris avoided her eyes.

"Its not okay around him, is it?" It took a while before she replied.

"Of course it's not okay, after all what's been happening, I just wish I haven't met him." Paris answered and turned her back against her mother and leaned on the glass.

"Now, why'd you say that? You wanted to meet him ever since you've found out he was alive." Irina said.

"Well, that is the point. You see, I wanted to meet the man you've described. The sweet, funny, caring, loving and protective man. He is not what you've describe him."

"People change, you know that."

"I know, its just that… are you sure you didn't invent him? You know, his personality?"

"Why would I do that?" Irina asked in a challenging tone.

"Nothing… I'm sorry. Its just… a wee bit disappointing." Paris said and sighed. She turned to face her mother again. "He rarely smiles and the only thing he cares about is his work. He speaks to me only when needed and he avoids me." 

"Paris…"

"Yeah, I know. Don't force people to like you. But then again, he doesn't need me as his daughter and I don't need him as my father."

"Now, don't say that. He just needs time."

"Whatever you say, mom. But I'm not going to wait." Paris replied and looked at her watch. She smiled a bit and touched the glass with her left hand. "I'd better go. They want to check my weapons skills."

Irina raised one of her eyebrows.

"They found out that back in MI5, I'm, what they call here, a black ops agent, and they want to try out my shooting skills, to check if I can still hold a firearm." Paris explained.

"Oh."

Paris smiled at her mother then left. Irina watched her go.

Meanwhile, in the surveillance room, Jack Bristow heard and watched the whole conversation. He ran his hand through his hair and sighed.

'So my daughter thinks I hate her?' he thought. She didn't actually voice it, but with the way she said all of those things about him, he can sense that she believes he hates her.

He left the surveillance room to go to his office. He opened the door and let himself in. He approached his desk and took a thick folder on the table.

Jack sat down on his chair and opened it. The smiling face of Parisenne Mikaela Derevko greeted him. It was her MI5 file and everything he had read tells him she's a brilliant spy, a wonderful woman, just like Sydney. But she did grow up with Irina Derevko, master manipulator, brilliant liar, a deceptive woman.

He read one of her psychological profiles. It was said that she is a bit of a loner but works well in groups. The doctor also wrote that she would do and finish her responsibility, whatever it takes. She would also try to fix problems and not just accept them.

'Like somebody I know.' Jack thought as Sydney's image popped into his head. They had gotten along. Sydney was looking for someone to talk to. Paris was all alone when she arrived in the country. They were like a positive charge and a negative charge. It didn't hurt that they were sisters.

'Do I really care about what she thinks?' Jack thought. Well, in terms of feelings, he cares for Irina, even if he continually denies it, and he loves Sydney. But what about Paris?

He read her files again and after a while, he finally has an answer.

'Yeah. I think I do."

***

[SOMEWHERE OUT THERE]

Sydney was high in adrenaline. Armed guards were chasing her and she was running up to the rooftop. Gunshots were being fired and she was trying very hard not to get shot or be caught.

"Freelancer, this is Delta pilot, we're up in the roof."

"Copy that, delta pilot. There are others following me." Sydney answered as she ran up the stairs.

"We'll take care of that."

Sydney can feel her legs getting tired. She has climbed up nine floors and went down three to escape her pursuers. Her legs were getting heavy and even the disk she was ordered to retrieve seem to weigh like a ton.

She reached the door and kicked it open. The helicopter was hovering a few feet off the ground. She ran towards the rope ladder and climb up. Her pursuers reached the roof and began to shoot at her again. The delta forces inside the helicopter fired back.

Sydney reached the top of the rope and she was helped up by one of the men. She mumbled 'thanks' and sat down on one of the seats. She breathed out a sigh of relief and tried to catch her breath. She was going home.

~~~~~~~~~

[A FEW DAYS LATER]

Sydney walked into the front door of the safe house. Dixon informed her that they had given three of the disks to Marshall and the remaining three to Paris. It seems that her sister was already finished decoding the encrypted information on her disks.

"Agent Bristow?" an agent of about forty years of age appeared behind her.

"Yes?" Sydney asked.

"Oh, Agent Westfield. I'm part of the security team together with Agent Marlowe." He answered and offered his hand. Sydney shook it.

"I'm her…"

"Her sister, yes, I know. Uh… we're going to enter through the kitchen." He said and led her to the bushes near the garage.

Sydney followed him and he escorted her to the door of the kitchen. Agent Westfield opened the door and he let her inside.

"She's in her room. She was up all night working on her laptop." Agent Westfield said as he closed the door.

"Thank you." Sydney said and looked around. She saw a box of cake on the table. She looked at him inquiringly.

"I wont be here tomorrow 'til next week, and Paris's birthday is on Wednesday, so I thought that I'll just give her an advance birthday gift." Agent Westfield replied and smiled at her. Sydney smiled back then went on to go to Paris' room. The door was closed, so she knocked first. Nobody answered.

Sydney opened the door and found everything quiet. She entered and looked for Paris. She approached the bed and saw Paris curled up in one side, facing the wall, pillows covering her upper body and her head. The laptop was by her side.

Shaking her head, Sydney lifted the pillows. Paris didn't stir at all. Sydney then gently poked Paris' shoulder. She still didn't wake up.

"Paris?" Sydney whispered and tapped her sister's shoulder. Paris woke up in a jolt and sat up. Her eyes roved around, as if looking for any threat. She then noticed Sydney.

"Oh, hey. Sorry, I must have dozed off." Paris, who was still groggy, said and handed her six disks. "The blue ones are the decrypted info. The others are what you gave me."

"Thanks." Sydney said and took them from her. 

Paris yawned. "You're welcome." Then, her eyes lit up. "Do you want some cake?"

"Sure." Sydney answered. Paris stood up and fixed the bed. She took the laptop and set it on the table. She looked at Sydney and went out of the room and to the kitchen.

"Its Black Forest." Paris said as she sliced a piece for Sydney.

"I love that flavor."

"Yeah, me too." Paris said and gave her the plate. "How's Agent Vaughn doing?"

It's been three weeks since they discovered that Lauren was 'The Covenant' mole, thanks to Paris' identification and the bugs Vaughn placed around his house. She has disappeared and they were still tracking her down. She has been spotted with Sark and Allison Doren, but they can't seem to pinpoint a current location.

"He's doing fine, I guess." Sydney answered.

"I hope you don't mind if the question's a bit intruding, but were you and Agent Vaughn…?"

"Yes, we were. Before." She replied.

"Hmmm…" was Paris's reply. Sydney took a bite. The cake was delicious and creamy.

Then, Sydney's cell phone rang. It was Dixon. He called to tell Sydney to bring Paris in to the operations center. It was urgent.

***

"Are you sure it's me you want?" Paris asked. 

It was six hours after the meeting. She was asked to assist in a mission, which was to infiltrate Sloane's so-called palace, a very big house in the middle of nowhere, in Madagascar. It was learned that Veleverkova and Cuvee sent a package, a Rambaldi artifact, to Sloane. They had gathered intel about the place, the security, the location, all in a few hours.

"Yes. You're records show that you had infiltrated the place when you were still an agent for the MI5." Dixon replied.

"You did know that, that mission failed? Faulty intel reports caused that failure. How can you be sure that yours isn't?" she answered.

"It came from the inside." Vaughn told her.

"Our intel was also from the inside. But why did the damn mission fail? Was it because of us? It was good thing luck was on our side or we could all have been castrated and fed to the wild animals that were roaming around that place." Paris replied sardonically to Vaughn.

"Agent Derevko." Dixon said in a warning tone. "You have done this before. I assure you that the intel will be fine. Besides, you are the only person qualified enough to do this mission. The other one… never mind. But Agent Bristow and Agent Vaughn will help you. If we're done, Marshall will be here shortly. The plane leaves in four hours." Dixon said as he went out of the room.

The three of them, Sydney, Vaughn and Paris were left inside the room. Sydney and Vaughn started talking about the situation, what possible obstacles they might encounter in this mission, the gadgets Marshall might give and all other stuff. They both steered away from the conversation of Lauren. 

Sydney knew that Vaughn already started the annulment of his marriage to Lauren. The final copies were to be delivered next week. Paris listened to them but kept out of the conversation. A few minutes later, Marshall arrived.

~~~~~~~~~

(Two days after)

"So, Ms. Derevko, how are we feeling today?" Dr. Barnett asked Irina as she sat down the chair provided for her. She was, of course, at the other side of the glass pane, but Dr. Barnett makes it look like they were in her office.

"Why do you ask?" Irina replied.

"I just wanted to know what you feel about this, that's all. You do know that we are to have a session today?" Dr. Barnett asked.

"Yes. Agent Dixon told me." Irina answered. She didn't say anything else. She has no intention of speaking to this shrink.

"So… what do you want to talk about?" Dr. Barnett asked, leaning on her chair. She recognized the rebuff of Irina to talk. She doesn't want to let her 'patient' to have her own way. She had read Irina's files and she concluded that this woman has many layers, many secrets that she doesn't want to tell. She likens Irina Derevko to a very complex maze and if you make wrong move, you get trapped.

"I don't want to talk about anything. But thank you very much for asking." Irina replied curtly.

"Not even Paris? I got a chance to talk to her. She's very nice, intelligent. You must be very proud of her." 

"Paris is none of your concern, she's fine." 

"How can you tell she's fine?" Dr. Barnett asked.

"Because I'm her mother" Irina said.

"But you're inside this cell, how can you be sure?" the doctor asked again.

"I see her when she visits me."

"Three years is such a long time when you've been a constant presence in her life. She might have changed." Dr. Barnett said. Irina didn't answer her. Instead, she closed her eyes, took a deep breath and refused to speak.

Dr. Barnett, upon noting that Irina didn't want to talk again, tried another tactic.

"Paris told me that she tried to gather information about her father. She had acquired a lot of them actually."

"Really? When did she do that?" Irina asked.

"The first time you turned yourself in, from what I can tell." Dr. Barnett replied.

"KGB documents were destroyed after the Iron Curtain fell." Irina informed her.

"That's what we know. But she had documentation of your mission, the pre and post planning of it, Jack Bristow's profile, the ten years of your life together and the rules that were created after your extraction. She didn't give it to me, of course, but she told me part of what she had retrieved. Agent Dixon already had gotten hold of it, but they can't decode it. Even Mr. Flinkman can't decode the thing."

"She's very resourceful, and smart."

"You have raised an intelligent and emotionally stable woman who had no negative reaction whatsoever, when she met her sister and father she hadn't known existed until the past three years or so." Dr. Barnett said.

"That's what you think. But why are you telling me this? Am I not the one you should be analyzing?" Irina asked.

It was a long time before Dr. Barnett answered her.

"Well, you are her mother. She's really very warm towards her and sister, but as she told me, she rarely sees her father. It's not really a normal reaction of people with almost the same family background." She answered Irina.

"Well, she's more resistant to emotional hurts than most people."

"Yes. I can see that. Tell me, whom do you think Paris is more similar to? You or her father?" Dr. Barnett asked.

"She's more like her father. She has… unconventional ways with dealing with things and as enthusiastic when it comes to work. But she's… stubborn." Irina answered as she thought that Dr. Barnett is so interested in Paris.

"Stubborn? Well, I think we know where that came from. What about Sydney? Who do you think is she more similar to?" Dr. Barnett asked.

"I don't really know. She has the energy and the warmth her father had when I first met him. But she knows how to wait. She knows when the right time is going to be. To say something, to do something." Irina replied and looked at Dr. Barnett as if to say, 'what now, doc?'

"That was very insightful… I guess, its time." Dr. Barnett said as she looked at her watch. It was only after fifty minutes but she wants Irina to have answers the next time they meet. She doesn't want stony silence when the session is with this woman. She stood up and left. 

Irina watched her as she walked to the barred gates and breathed out a sigh of relief as she heard the guards acknowledge her. She thought that the secret she was trying hard to keep would be revealed unknowingly. The secret that she kept from Jack and Sydney, her secret that resulted into what they are right now. 

But when Dr. Barnett told her that Paris had the documents pertaining to the whole mission, she was sure that Paris knows, and only through her swift deciphering of her own codes will show her mother's weakness. Irina wants to tell Jack, but he will suspect that she's just playing with him and she's out to wreck his life again. She is, as Jack said, a manipulative sociopath. She sat down on her bed, and thought on what might have happened if she told Jack, 20 years ago, that she was a KGB agent.

'What would have Jack done?' she asked herself. She was pondering for a long time on what would have happened if she fought back against her superiors, when she heard the security gates clanging open and shut. She looked at the glass pane and saw Dixon and Jack standing where Dr. Barnett originally sat on a chair.

"Do you know the blueprint of Sloane's base in Madagascar?" Dixon asked, not wasting time.

"Yes… I had the chance to study it; actually… I helped the architect with the plans. Sloane 'renovated' the house when I was still in his alliance."

"We need your knowledge of the house. The lives of three agents hang in a balance." Jack said.

Irina looked at Jack, confused. And upon seeing his eyes, warning bells began to ring in her head.

~~~~~~

[A little before the scene above]

MADAGASCAR

"The signal's jammed in this part. We've got to get out of this area." Vaughn said to Sydney. The mission was a part failure, part success. Paris was able to infiltrate the place and get what they wanted. But with the faulty intel that Paris warned them about, she got caught after giving them the artifact.

"You go out of this area and contact dad or Dixon. I'm going to stay here." Sydney replied.

"You're crazy if you think I'm just going to leave you." Vaughn answered. 

Sydney faced Vaughn and hissed, "You're wasting time if you're going to argue with me."

"Look, we'll go to the extraction point, contact Dixon or your dad and request for a rescue team to get Paris. Staying here is too risky." Vaughn said.

"By the time the extraction team arrives here, Paris could be dead. I'm not going to leave my sister to die." Sydney said as she took a look behind her back.

"You'll both die if you stay here. You can't rescue her all by yourself." Vaughn replied. He doesn't want to leave Sydney without back up.

"We'll run fast. GO!" Sydney hissed. Vaughn staggered off, not really willing to leave Sydney behind, took one last look at her and hurriedly went to the drop off point.

***

"Sir, its Agent Vaughn." An agent told Jack as he gave him the satellite phone.

"Bristow."

"Sir, we need an extraction team. The intel that was given to us was faulty. Agent Derevko was caught after giving us the artifact." Vaughn said over the phone.

"What are your coordinates?" Jack asked.

"Sir, I'm in the extraction point, frequencies were jammed in that area and the only way to go in without being detected is to go on foot. Going inside the base is the problem…" Vaughn replied.

"We'll be there, wait for us." Jack ordered.

"But sir…" Vaughn replied but wasn't able to finish because the person he was talking to, ended the call.

***

Sydney was sitting behind a humongous tree, her hiding place for the last six hours. She had managed to find the place's 'conversation' room aka torture room. She doesn't really think that the room was actually a room. It looks more like a gigantic freezer. But even from afar, she can hear Paris's spiteful responses to the questions her interrogators were asking. 'Where is Vaughn?' Sydney thought.

She heard Paris screaming in pain. Sydney tried to restrain herself from leaving her hiding place and barging in without any plan.

The men were shouting curses. One of them barged out of the room. Sydney saw a mist of cold air following the man out of the room, before he shut it closed. A while later, Sydney saw Allison on her way to the room.

'Oh my god.' Sydney thought.

__

Meanwhile, in the torture room

"Who sent you?"

They have addressed this question to Paris ever since the start of the first hour. She still hadn't answered it even if she had been electrocuted, beaten and frozen.

"The devil on earth." Paris sputtered. The man lunged towards her and slammed his fist on her face. Paris saw stars.

The man looked at her. 'This mite is tough.' He thought. The girl looked like she has encountered hell on earth. She was drenched and cold. Her face was filled with wounds and bruises. Her right arm is broken and her clothes were ripped almost in all sides from the beating she received from the whip.

John Savage, who spent ten years working for people like Sloane as a hired killer, has never encountered another person who hadn't broke with the methods he used.

'She hasn't even pleaded for them to stop.' He thought as he circled the chair. His other companions, three of them, were shaking their heads. They have all given up.

The door to the room opened. It was Allison.

She entered the room and slammed the door shut. She approached John Savage.

"One of your men approached me. Kill her, she's just here for revenge." Allison said and looked at Paris.

"This is not like you to rush headlong to your opponent, little assassin. But you are you're mother's daughter." Allison said and smirked at her appearance that can be likened to a wet and bloody kitten.

"Kill her. She has no use." Allison said and went out of the room.

John Savage waited until he can no longer hear Allison's footsteps before he ordered his men to unchain Paris and throw her to one of the corners of the room to be executed.

Paris groaned as her body came in brutal contact to the wall. She was violently pulled up again and was made to kneel. 

"Too bad you have to die. You're so pretty." One of the men said and cupped her chin. He was spat on the face.

"You're going to hell." Paris muttered and executed a head butt. She deftly took his gun and knife she had spied upon during her interrogation and began shooting.

She has fired five shots and saw that all men were down. She managed to shoot all of them. Shivering, she tried to stand up. Her legs were wobbly and she can't walk without feeling any pain. Paris cried out in pain as she tried to walk. 

Tears spilled out of her face as she tried to bear the pain in her fingers. The metal door was too heavy.

But then, the door opened. Light from the fluorescent bulb outside streamed in. she recognized the person standing before her.

It was Sark.

He looked at her, surprised that she inside and at her appearance. He seemed to be in conflict on what to do after he saw the fear and the anger at her eyes. Will he kill her or will he let her go?

Sark took a step back and looked around. Nobody seems to be in sight since he turned his attention back to her.

He took her wrist gently then quickly led her out of the room. 

"Go." He said, whispering to her ear.

***

Irina was sitting opposite Jack in the plane. Paris was lying down on a pillow that was on Irina's lap. They found Sydney and Paris together when they reached their position.

Sydney recounted on how Sark helped Paris and how she escaped. Jack and Vaughn gaped at her when she was through with the narration. 

"Sark let her go?" Vaughn asked, whispering, to Sydney. They were near Jack and Irina's seats but both thought that they were asleep.

"Yes. He took one look at her then he took a step back. He led her out of the room."

"Sark actually has emotions other than arrogance and self confidence?"

"It seems to it. Allison was also there."

Vaughn shook his head. He can hear Jack and Irina talking. "Go to sleep, your father might scold us for not resting."

Meanwhile, Jack was watching Irina having a 'conversation' with Paris. It seems that Paris also talks in her sleep.

"Sunburn at my back, mommy." He heard her say.

"Do you want to put cream on it?" Irina asked in a low voice as she smoothed out Paris's hair. She has a high temperature.

"No, thank you." Paris mumbled.

Irina was quiet for a few minutes, and then looked at Jack.

"Must be the wounds on her back." Irina explained. Aside from the wounds on Paris's back, she has a broken right arm, and deep wounds on her face.

"What is she going to do with the wounds on her face?" Jack asked.

"Paris heals fast. And when her wounds heal, its as if they were never there. No scars."

"She hates me." Jack said after a few minutes.

"No, she doesn't." Irina answered. "She's very much like you."

"So, she really hates me."

"No. Unlike you, she knows how to forgive easily when somebody asks for her forgiveness."

Jack looked at her then looked down.

"Get some rest." He said and stood up. He looked to where Sydney and Vaughn were seated. They were sitting near each other, with Sydney's head resting on Vaughn's shoulder. They were both asleep.

Jack went to the bathroom. He wants to escape from this situation. He called Dixon after they have safely reached the plane hangar. Upon hearing Paris's condition, Dixon ordered that Irina stay with them for twenty-four more hours after they've landed.

'I'm feeling desperation that I'm stuck with her while Sydney's thrilled that her mother will be staying.' Jack thought as he splashed water in his face. He looked in to the mirror.

'Now that Lauren's gone, Vaughn and Sydney will be back together. What is it with Vaughn does Sydney loves so much? Why didn't their relationship disintegrate after Lauren?' he asked himself. He doesn't exactly like Michael Vaughn ever since he broke Sydney's heart by marrying another woman, but he knows that he can count on him if his daughter's life is ever in danger.

He can't answer the question. So he went out of the bathroom to face one of his inner demons. 

Irina.

Her name means peace but she seems to be the opposite of it. He trusted her a bit when they collaborated to find Sydney. But he can't fully trust her. Especially when she can hide the very existence of his child for twenty-two years.

'Maybe she's just good in hiding things from you.' an inner thought said.

"Maybe." He said aloud. He sat down on his chair across Irina. She was already asleep.

All of the passengers were asleep except for him. Jack just watched over them the whole trip back home.


	8. chapter seven

Disclaimer: I don't own the characters. They are owned by JJ Abrams, ABC and Touchstone (Bad Robot too?). The reason I write these stories is to stop the characters from this television show from dancing in my head, together with the characters in CSI. Thank You…

A/N- hope you like this chapter… 

****

CHAPTER SEVEN

~~~

"Congratulations Mrs. Bristow. You're three months pregnant."

The doctor's words still rang in her head. She was so happy when she found out that she was carrying Jack's baby. But all that happiness is lost now. 

'What will they do to my baby when they find out I haven't terminated the pregnancy? To Jack? What will they do to her and this mission?' She thought. She doesn't want to go back to Russia. She was happy here.

She reached home and placed her keys in the kitchen counter. She went to the refrigerator to get some water. Jack wasn't home yet. She poured the water on the glass and drank it.

'What if he doesn't want the baby?' she thought. Tears were now swimming in her eyes. 'What if he tells me that it was all a mistake? And what will happen when her superiors find out she failed the mission because of the pregnancy?'

Loyalty to her country and her love for Jack is giving her dilemmas she hadn't foreseen the first few months of the mission. She thought of Jack as charming and attractive, but her ideologies back then, were different. But after almost three years with Jack, she felt as if all her beliefs were torn away and replaced by new ones.

'What will I do if he doesn't want it?' she thought as she let her tears fall. She cried silently afraid that somebody might hear. She was facing the kitchen sink when a voice suddenly boomed out of nowhere.

"How was school?"

She was still holding the glass when she was startled by the voice. The glass slipped from her hands and was shattered into bits and pieces when it crashed on the floor.

It was Jack. And he rushed towards when he heard the glass shatter.

"I'm sorry, I really thought… Are you okay?" Jack asked when he saw her tear- streaked face.

"I… I'm okay."

"Laura, really, you're not okay if you're crying." Jack replied. He was helping her pick up the shards of glass on the floor.

"Uh… I'm okay… really." she replied as Jack took the shards of glass in her hands and threw it in the trashcan. He took her hands and helped her up.

"Are you okay?" he asked again. He took a look on her hands.

"I'm pregnant."

Jack looked at her, his surprise to the revelation, can be traced in his face.

"I… I thought you might want to know." She said nervously, uncertain on how Jack will react.

Jack cupped her face, kissed her, and hugged her tight.

"You want it?" she whispered. She was surprised at Jack's reaction. He didn't really talk about children much.

"Want it? What kind of question is that? Of course I want to have the baby." Jack replied as he cuddled her. 

He kissed her again and said to her, "I love you."

~~~

Irina awoke to the sounds of screams. They were back in LA, in the safe house. She was sitting in one of the sofa, watching over Paris. 

Paris. 

She was the one who was screaming. Irina turned on the lamp and tried to wake her up. 

Jack rushed into the room and turned on the lights. He was outside, standing guard near the door when he heard the screams. Sydney was also running towards the room. 

When he turned on the lights, he saw Irina hugging Paris. The girl was shaking, and speaking in Russian, talking about drowning and electrocution. Irina spoke to her in both Russian and English, telling her that it was only a dream, that she was safe. 

Sydney gave him a glass of water, for him to give either to Irina or Paris.

"It's okay. Just a dream. You're not going to drown, I promise." He heard Irina said, in English, when Jack was approaching them. Sydney followed him, curious on what her father will say.

Paris finally settled down, taking deep breaths. Tears can still be seen running down her face.

"Are you okay?" Jack asked. Irina looked at him, and saw the glass of water. Jack then gave the glass to her to give to Paris. Irina held it out to her daughter.

Paris took it and drank half of the water and eyed her father and mother then Sydney. She placed the glass on the night table.

"I'm okay. Thank you for asking." She said to Jack. 

"You should get back to sleep, you're still sick." Sydney said.

"Only if mom stays."

Irina and Jack looked at each other. Sydney glanced at Paris, then her mom and dad.

"She'll stay. We'll both stay." Jack answered.

Paris eyed them doubtfully.

"We'll sit here, in this sofa. When you wake up tomorrow, you'll still see us." Jack said. After realizing what he just said, he regretted saying those words.

Paris looked at them, her eyes roving to Jack then to Irina, then to Sydney. She nodded her head, said goodnight to them and pulled the covers. Her head still hurt, and she was afraid to sleep, that what her Jack said about tomorrow might not be true. But when she heard them talking in hushed tones, she finally dozed off.

Sydney stayed until Paris fell asleep. She then whispered to her father that she'd return to her place outside. "Are going to keep your promise to Paris?" she asked after he accompanied her out.

"Yes. Irina and I will survive the night without fighting, if that's what you are worried about." Her father replied. She said good night and proceeded on to her post. Jack went back in and sat on the sofa, near Irina.

Irina was staring at the glass of water, remembering her dream before being waking up to Paris's screams. 'Why did she dream that memory? What emotion is she feeling now that evoked the remembrance of that occasion?' She thought. She was still trying to understand what had happened when Jack sat down beside her. She sighed.

"Why did you say that?" Irina asked. She was speaking softly; she doesn't want to wake up Paris.

"To reassure my daughter." Jack replied. He saw Irina's mild surprise. She finally heard Jack acknowledge Paris as his daughter without a certain tone that she finds quite malicious.

She nodded her head in response and turned away from him. Jack wanted to see more of the motherly Irina he saw a few minutes ago.

"Was that a nightmare she had when she was young?" Jack asked. The way Irina responded to Paris's scared Russian utters, it was like she had experienced it before.

"Yes. When she was seven years old, there was a month when it was almost every night that she comes to my room because of that dream. The doctors can't explain it since my brother stood in as a father figure for her."

"Brother?" Jack asked.

"Yes. I had three brothers. One of them died. I named her after my older brother, Mikhail."

"Who's the brother that stood in as a father figure?" Jack asked.

"My twin brother, Danilov. He was the one who convinced my superiors to let me keep the baby. He was also the one who planned our children's, his son and daughter and Paris, escape from Russia."

"Twin brother?" Jack asked.

Irina nodded. "Yes. He's older than me by three hours. I'm the youngest in the family."

"Why didn't you give Paris my name?" Jack asked.

"Knowing your name will endanger her life. You are one of the top agents, and being in another country, with no protection, and a daughter of a KGB agent, she may be an easy target."

They sat in silence again. The same silence they had back in the plane. They can't think of anything to talk about that's not related to their past or this present. They don't want to talk about what is happening in the espionage world, it was too complicated, too heavy to analyze.

"What would you have done if you found out that two years after Laura Bristow died, the woman who impersonated her gave birth to another child, eight months after she had disappeared?" Irina asked.

"I'd have looked for that child, killed all those who had hurt her and brought her back here." Jack replied.

"But she was the daughter of the woman who fooled you."

"Yes. But so was the first child."

Irina looked at him again, looking for signs of insincerity. When she found none, she leaned back the sofa and closed her eyes.

Jack let her be, and reflected on what she asked. He watched her session with Dr. Barnett. He knew that some of her answers had hidden meanings in them. She also looked worried when the doctor told her that Paris had documents of her missions.

'What is she hiding?' Jack asked himself. He took a deep breath and sighed. He stood up and looked at the neatly arranged piles of books near Paris's bed. He took one that got his interest, and went back to the sofa. Irina looked like she fell asleep after the conversation, but he wanted to be sure. He was going to read the book and after that, stand guard on Irina. 'She might try to escape.' He thought.

After minutes of scanning through the paperback, he felt his eyelids drooping. He tried to read the contents of the book, but felt too sleepy to understand what he was reading. He looked at Irina again. He can feel the evenness of her breathing and he decided that she was not feigning sleep. He stood up again, returned the book, got an extra blanket, and placed it gently on Irina. He doesn't really know why he did that, but he felt at ease after the act. 

'She does look cold. She might want it later or something.' Jack thought. He turned off the lamp and returned to the sofa. He leaned back and closed his eyes.

***

Sydney woke up a little before seven. She felt refreshed and energized. She remembered that she was in the safe house with her mom, dad and sister. She then went to the kitchen to prepare breakfast. On her way there, Vaughn appeared.

"Hey. Good morning. I brought some food." He said.

"Good morning too." Sydney replied. Vaughn smiled at her and accompanied Sydney to the kitchen.

"What did you bring?" Sydney asked.

"Bagels, coffee beans, coffee cream, raw bacon." Vaughn answered.

"I think I saw eggs in the fridge yesterday. Sit down, I'll make some breakfast."

Vaughn sat down the chair and took out the food he brought. He was taking out the last of the cans, the coffee beans, when Paris entered the kitchen.

"Good morning." She greeted them. They said good morning back to her and she sat down next to Vaughn.

"What are you cooking?" She asked Syd.

"Eggs, sunny side up, and bacon. How do you like yours?" Sydney asked.

"The same. But… I don't know how to cook, so can I just make the coffee?" Paris asked.

"Sure. Just be careful with your arm." Sydney replied, referring to Paris's broken right arm.

"I'll set the table." Vaughn volunteered.

They went on to their business and did what they had to do. A few minutes later, Jack and Irina walked in. Both of them also looked refreshed.

"Hi mom, Agent Bristow." Paris greeted. She was turning on the coffee maker.

'Still Agent Bristow.' Sydney thought. "Good morning. How was the night?" She asked. She knew that her father didn't leave the room, or Paris would have said something about it.

"Fine." Jack replied gruffly. He woke up, leaning on Irina's side, his whole weight being supported by her.

"It was okay." Was her reply. She was rubbing her arm, which was a bit sore from sleep. 

"How do you like your coffee?" Paris asked Jack. She knew that her mother takes it black, so did Sydney and Vaughn. But her father…

"Uh… Black." He replied. Sydney was now placing the food on the table. It smelled delicious.

"So, Agent Vaughn, what brings you here this morning?" Irina asked as they sat down on their chairs.

"I just came to check on all of you." Vaughn replied.

"I invited him for breakfast." Sydney said.

"He brought the food." Paris interjected.

Jack sighed and looked at Vaughn. Vaughn looked back at him. Sydney just rolled her eyes and asked her father if he wants some eggs.

"I'd like some, thank you." Jack replied as Sydney passed the plate to Paris then she, to Jack.

"What time will they take mom back?" Sydney asked Vaughn a few minutes after they have settled the food in their plates.

"Well, we arrived at 6 pm yesterday, so they'll take her at 6 pm later." Vaughn replied, taking a bite from the crispy bacon. Delicious. 

Paris was separating the yellow part of the egg from the white part, setting aside the white part and eating the yellow one. Irina was doing the same while Jack and Sydney did the opposite, eating the white part and separating the yellow part.

Jack didn't say anything. He had a call an hour before the plane landed and was asked by Devlin if he can be the security escort of Irina Derevko. His reason was that since he already had a 'background' established with her, he can tell if she's deceiving him or not. He didn't try to remind Devlin of the mission in Panama, where she not only escaped his clutches, she also escaped with the Rambaldi artifact.

"Agent Bristow, I was asked by Director Devlin to stay here." Vaughn told Jack.

"Yes, he informed me yesterday." Jack replied. Just then, they were interrupted by Jack's cell phone, which was ringing. Jack excused himself, stood up from his chair and went to a place where he can take the call.

"Bristow."

"Ah, Jack… I really wondered when you will meet the charming, placid, Paris Derevko." The voice said from the other line.

It was Arvin Sloane.

"Almost fifteen years ago, Jack. Do you remember? You knew her as Mikaela. She was in our house, as a guest." He said to him.

"What do you want, Arvin?" 

"Nothing really. I just wanted to congratulate her for successfully breaking back out in Germany and the great escape, or should I say rescue, in Madagascar. Her mother, who is again in hiding, would have been so proud." He taunted.

Jack didn't answer. Anger was seething but he doesn't want any violent outbursts, especially when the person who provoked him is Arvin Sloane.

"Please tell your daughters they look more like their mother everyday. Until the next conversation, Jack." And with that, Sloane ended his call. Jack, his temperature rising, went back to the dining room.

"So, dad, who called you?" Sydney asked. It was still early morning; most people would still be in bed.

"Nobody important." Jack replied and started to finish the food on his plate. Sydney didn't press any further, even if she recognized the tone of his voice. The Santa Clause tone.

When they were done and the dishes, clean, father and daughter went back to their respective houses to have a shower and a quick change. Sydney volunteered to get her mother a change of clothes since she wasn't allowed to go out of the safe house. Jack had this urge to confront Irina with what Sloane told him, but he reined it in. He wants to have a decent, humane conversation with the woman who landed him in solitary confinement twice.

While Jack and Sydney were in their homes, Paris and Vaughn started a game of chess. Irina was with them, sitting on the couch, reading a book she had retrieved from the organized pile in Paris' room.

"So, you and Sydney were once… a couple?" Paris asked as she moved her knight.

"That's not polite." Irina interjected in Russian, not looking up from what she was reading.

"Sorry… you don't have to answer that." Paris said to Vaughn, a bit embarrassed that she was reprimanded in front of him.

"Its okay. Yes. We were once… we." Vaughn replied as he moved his bishop. He didn't really understand what Irina said to her.

Silence.

"Are you left-handed?" Paris asked while at the same time eating one of Vaughn's pawns. It seems that she can't think of anything to keep the conversation going.

"Yeah. And you're ambidextrous, but you favor your left hand more." Vaughn answered. He then moved his rook to protect his king.

Paris smiled.

"How did you know that?" she asked.

"Your profile. It also said there that you've already taken your master's work in Ancient History."

"Check. Yeah Cambridge University." She replied as she the rook that was protecting Vaughn's king.

Vaughn studied the chessboard. His chess mate had 'booby trapped' every move he might make with the king and his protectors. If he moves his rook to protect the king, he's going to lose the queen. If he moves the queen to protect the king, the rook will be eaten. He mulled for a while and decided to move his queen.

"Predictable." Paris said. Irina looked up from what she was reading to look at the chessboard.

"Excuse me?" Vaughn asked.

"I said predictable." Paris answered as she moved the 'hidden' bishop, cornering the king. "Checkmate."

Vaughn gaped at the chessboard. He lost.

"No one's ever beat me at chess." Paris said hesitantly and smiled at him.

"Sydney used to beat me at chess. You're the second one to pummel in this game." Vaughn replied, studying the chessboard, examining the moves.

"No hard feelings?" Paris asked and extended her hand for a handshake.

"Its just a game." Vaughn answered, smiling and shook her hand.

A few minutes later, after he placed all the pieces inside the foldable, wooden chessboard, he asked, "What about a game of Chinese checkers?"


	9. chapter eight

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters nor do I profit economically when I write stories about them.

CHAPTER EIGHT

When Sydney arrived, Vaughn and Paris were playing scrabble. She had given her mother the change of clothes she has gotten from the office and was now taking a shower. She heard Vaughn asking about a word Paris placed on the board.

"What is H-H-O?" Vaughn asked.

"Uh… water?" Paris answered.

"That is a direct violation of the rules!" Vaughn exclaimed. He lost all the games he suggested they play. Chinese checkers, snake and ladders and backgammon.

"It's a chemical equation." Paris reasoned.

"Yes, but its not a word!"

A pause.

"Okay." Paris shrugged and took the three letters. She replaced it with 'harlot'.

"Nice." Vaughn commented. Paris gave him a snicker. Sydney sat down on the couch and observed what they were doing.

"Wanna join?" Paris asked her. Sydney smiled as she was given the extra ledge for her the letters.

"Agent Vaughn's a boring challenger." Paris teased.

A few minutes and thirty plus letters later, Vaughn asked Sydney where Jack was.

"I don't know. He's supposed to arrive first. Maybe he got delayed or something."

Paris rose up. "I'm going to get some water. I'm going to skip the turns that I'm going to miss." She said. She wants Sydney and Vaughn to have a conversation freely, without a stranger hearing what they might want to possibly say to each other.

"That's easy for her to say. She has a hundred point lead." Vaughn mumbled.

"Is Agent Vaughn a sore loser too?" Sydney joked.

"Not really." Vaughn replied. He placed the word 'time' below 'harlot'.

"I think the call Dad got this breakfast was from somebody important and at the same time he hates." Sydney said.

"What made you say that?"

"He said 'no' in the tone he normally uses when he lies." Sydney answered. Vaughn nodded, knowing very well what she meant, and gave her a little smile.

"The annulment was finalized." Vaughn said after a few minutes. Paris hasn't yet returned from the kitchen.

"When?" Sydney asked nonchalantly. Even if she really wants to be together with Vaughn again, there is still this remnant of Lauren that is going to be etched in his heart forever.

"Yesterday. The answering machine got the message." Lauren will now just be a memory. He wants to have a new start with Sydney. If she wants to. Sydney nodded her head, at the same time, Paris re-entered the living room.

"Who's leading?" she asked as she settled to her original place.

"Still you." Vaughn replied. "By the way, does Sark know you? I mean Sydney told us yesterday…"

"Uh… yeah. He was my best friend. Then I found out that he's into world domination, so I refused to talk to him." Paris replied.

"Really?" Sydney and Vaughn asked in amazement.

"Yes. He was nice and sweet. I don't know if he's still the same." Paris said.

Vaughn's pager then beeped. The message wants him to go to the security section of the safe house. He excused himself, stood up and left the room.

'You know we haven't formally gotten to know each other." Paris said after placing the word 'queen' on the board.

"You're right. Do you want to start?" Sydney asked, smiling. Her sister was adjusting well.

"Well… okay. My name is Parisenne Mikaela Derevko. I was named after the city of Paris and my uncle who died. I graduated from Cambridge University. I have astigmatism and I'm supposed to wear corrective glasses. I also wore retainers in my teeth, and it was supposed to be taken off when I turn 20. My favorite color is blue and I haven't had a boyfriend. I play the piano and I used to dance ballet."

She paused and then continued, "I was recruited in MI-5 when I was fifteen, which is, I think, illegal. I went undercover at SD-1 when I was seventeen then was transferred to the joint operations of MI-5 and Interpol. When I was eighteen, I died, supposedly. I attended my own funeral and frightened half of the mourners."

"You attended your own funeral?" Sydney asked.

"Yeah. They identified my body in one of the car crashes. Mom told me that my DNA matched the person. But I was actually in a mission and I was caught. They mourned for three months until they finally decided to bury that person. Meanwhile, I escaped and I saw my interment in the newspaper. And when I went to the memorial park and was seen by the people who were crying their hearts out, they all ran away from me, except for mom, Aunt Katya and Sark."

Sydney gave a little laugh. "I think the Derevko women have a way of rising up from the dead."

"Okay your turn." Paris said.

"Okay. Uh… my name's Sydney Bristow. I don't have a second name. I graduated from UCLA, graduate studies. I didn't wear any corrective device for my eyes or teeth. My favorite color is green and I had my share of boyfriends. I also used to dance but I'm more into kickboxing. I was recruited at SD-6 when I was nineteen thinking that the CIA recruited me. I learned about the truth later on, seven years later. I went to the real CIA and became a double agent." She paused.

"I met and fell in love with Michael Vaughn but I died, supposedly, but apparently I'm still alive."

"You forgot to mention that you were the one who destroyed SD-6 and the Alliance of Twelve." Paris said and smiled at her.

-xxx-

Jack arrived at around 9.30 am. He went inside the living room and found Sydney, Vaughn and Paris playing scrabble. Irina, who was finished taking a shower (apparently…), was reading. He approached her.

"Can I talk to you outside?" he asked.

Irina looked away from what she was reading and lowered the book. She stood up and then followed him. Jack led her to the basketball court where he took the liberty of disabling the security cameras situated in that place.

"What did you know about mom when she turned herself in, in terms of romantic entanglements?" Paris asked when they were gone.

Vaughn and Sydney stared at her, a bit surprised with the audacity of the question. They looked at each other, not knowing how to answer Paris.

"It was reported that she and Khasinau were… lovers." Vaughn answered a few seconds later.

"Lovers?" Paris asked, making a gagging sound.

"It was also reported that your mother seemed to have favored, I'm sorry for the term, boy-toys." Vaughn asked. Paris looked at him, uncertain on how to react. Sydney thought that her sister would be disgusted with their mother.

She was wrong. Because Paris laughed.

It wasn't a panic-stricken laughter or sad laughter. It was more of amused and she was laughing so hard that tears were coming out of her eyes.

"What's so funny?" Vaughn asked.

"Lovers? You thought they were lovers?" she asked, still laughing. "And boy-toys… Oh god, you must be kidding me. She agreed to all that?"

"Well, yes… sort of." Vaughn answered. Peals of uproarious laughter responded him.

"What is it? Is there something about Khasinau that gives that claim absurd?" Vaughn asked again.

"Absurd? It's impossible! The late Alexander Khasinau's gay." Paris replied, wiping the tears in her eyes. "God… boy-toys. Crazy." The bruises around her stomach were aching but she didn't mind them.

"He's what?!" Sydney asked.

"He's gay. A bloody homosexual. Besides, Khasinau hires the people, not 'The Man'. Well Sark's an exception. But other than Sark, everybody under 'The Man', was employed by Khasinau. I mean when you didn't know that Irina Derevko was the big boss, were there any claims that 'The Man' has a lover? None."

"How did you know?" Sydney and Vaughn asked simultaneously.

"Well, at first I thought he was just exceptionally neat and vain about himself. But after I planted a bug in his apartment, I laughed my head off for days. He likes the color purple and he sings along with Cher and Madonna. I thought I became mentally disturbed when I saw him dancing, only in his purple underwear, in front of the mirror singing 'Like a Virgin'."

Vaughn and her sister just gaped at her, imagining Khasinau lip-synching to Madonna just in his purple underwear. Eeeew.

While hysterical laughter was in the living room, it is not so in the basketball court.

"Why did Sloane know before I did?" Jack asked Irina. He was trying to keep his voice in an equal level.

"Know what?" Irina asked, puzzled. She can discern the anger in his voice.

"Know about Paris?! Knew that she's my daughter?!" he said.

[A flashback]

London, England

"Thank you Jack, for coming. Emily was so delighted when I told her that you would be coming over for dinner. Please, come in." Arvin Sloane said to Jack as he took his coat from him.

They were in Britain. Emily has been staying in the country for almost six months.

"Not really a problem, Arvin. As you know, I had a business meeting." Jack replied. Business meeting, meaning an SD-6 related mission and of course, the CIA counter-mission. But no need to tell Sloane that.

"Yes, yes. Oh, Emily and I had an unexpected visitor. Her mother had an… emergency business meeting she needed to attend to, and can't take her daughter along. Come, I'll introduce you to her." Sloane said to him and led him to the living room.

A little girl was sitting on the rug, coloring her coloring books. There was a plate of cookies, which were untouched, and a glass of milk on the table. Her brown hair was in braids and she was wearing blue overalls over a white shirt.

"Hello Mikaela. I would like you to meet Mr. Bristow." Sloane said in a 'fatherly' voice. The girl stopped coloring and looked at Sloane and then to Jack.

"Hello." She timidly greeted and went back to what she was doing. Just then, Emily entered the living room.

"Arvin, there's a phone call for you in your office. The bank." She said upon entering.

"Yes, thank you." He told his wife as he kissed her in the cheeks. "I won't be long." He said to Jack and left.

"Jack, its so nice to see you again." Emily greeted as they hugged. "Have you met Mikaela?" she asked.

"Yes." He replied as he glanced at the little girl. She doesn't seem to tire of coloring the images in the book.

"Please, sit down." Emily said as she motioned Jack to a chair. "How is Sydney?" she asked.

"She's fine. She's turning fourteen this April and she wants a radio."

"The last time I saw her she was the spitting image of Laura." Emily said. Jack just nodded, but his thoughts were screaming, 'Oh, you mean Irina Derevko, KGB assassin?'

A few minutes of talking to him Emily suddenly exclaimed, "Oh, I forgot all about dinner. Please, excuse me, I think I left the pot roast in the oven."

She gave him an apologizing look and scurried to the kitchen. He was left alone with Mikaela. 'A name of Russian origin' he thought. The little girl was absorbed with her coloring books and was paying no attention to him. He sighed and waited for Sloane.

But Sloane was in his study too long and made Jack wonder if his secret was found out.

'What if they had found out that I'm a double agent for the CIA? What if they had intercepted my contact and got the real information? What if they got Sydney and are now planning to…?'

"Do you want some cookie?" a little voice asked, interrupting his thoughts. He looked up and saw Mikaela holding out her plate of cookies to him.

"Uhh… no. But thank you." Jack answered. He was taken aback by the resemblance of Mikaela to Sydney when they were this young. But her eyes…

The little girl nodded her head and went back to where she was sitting. Jack, intrigued, approached her and sat on the couch next to her.

"How old are you?" Jack asked, striking a friendly conversation.

"Six and three quarters. I'm turning seven this June." She replied, coloring Bugs Bunny gray. Jack nodded his head.

"That's a very nice picture. What's your favorite color?" Jack asked again.

"Blue."

"What grade are you in school?" he asked. The little girl looked at him.

"I'm being home-schooled but mommy said that I'll be going to regular school this September." She replied.

"Are you excited? To go to regular school?"

"Uh… Not really. The other children think I'm weird."

The child can sometimes give straightforward, no-nonsense answers.

"Do you know why?" Jack asked. She shook her head and looked at him intently. Jack looked back.

When Sloane went in the living room a few minutes later, he found his colleague engaged in a staring contest with his young visitor.

"Dinner will be ready in fifteen minutes." Sloane announced.

[end of flash back]

Air was clogging up her throat. Her secrets are tumbling out of the can one by one.

"I had no choice…" she said quietly.

"No choice?!"

"He threatened that he will give her to the CIA and that I will never see her again. But before that he was going to hurt her! I'm not that stupid to gamble a young girl's life, especially my daughter, so that I can preserve a Rambaldi object that my family has for generations!"

"Or maybe you were just aligning yourself with him, leasing one of your daughters that are available to you, so that you can complete Rambaldi's work!" Jack hadn't realized that he had verbalized his thoughts. By the time he did, he felt his head reeling from the slap Irina gave him.

Tears were brimming in Irina's eyes but she refused to let them fall.

"How dare you…" she choked. "How dare you accuse me of letting my child fall into the hands of someone I despise, someone I want to destroy! You don't know what I've gone through to have Paris. And you may never will." Irina said, turning away from him.

"Paris grew up too fast. There were so many things that I have to do so that she will be safe and away from this kind of life. So don't criticize the way I've raised and protected her, because you weren't there! There were no help!"

"Then tell me. Tell me what you've gone through without _my_ help. Tell me why you didn't tell us about Paris from the start, after we thought Sydney had died." Jack said

"I… I can't."

"Why not?!" Jack asked.

"Because you'll not understand!" Irina answered. "Look at how you are treating her. You ignore her, you don't talk to her. What makes you think that you will understand if I told you earlier?"

"Try me." Jack challenged as he grabbed Irina's wrist and whirled her around so that she will be facing him. His grip was a bit tighter than he intended. To Irina, it felt like her wrist is going to break.

"What are you hiding? I can see it in your eyes that you're hiding something." Jack said.

"I don't have anything to hide. Let go of my wrist, please."

"That's bullshit. You're hiding something from us. From your daughters. From the CIA. Secrets are going to be exposed, whether you like it or not. And its better if you reveal to us what you're hiding so that we can help you!!!"

"And you think you're the person who can help me? You see Jack, the problem with what you're saying is… No one can help!!!" Irina shouted. Jack's grip on her wrist tightened. It was getting painful.

The commotion outside lured Sydney, Vaughn and Paris to where Jack and Irina were.

"What's going on here?" Sydney asked as they went out. Jack and Irina looked at them; Jack let go of Irina's wrist immediately.

"Your mother and I are having… a conversation." Jack answered.

"Yes. A conversation." Irina agreed and turned around. She doesn't want the three of them, especially Sydney and Paris, to know that she had been crying.

No such luck in that department.

"Mom, are you okay? Have you been crying?" Sydney asked, rushing towards her, Paris a step behind Sydney. Jack looked away from them, feeling a bit guilty.

"Its nothing. I'm fine." Irina replied.

"Mom, really, you're not okay if you're crying." Paris said. Irina looked at her. She remembers being told exactly the same thing years ago.

"No, I'm fine. I just needed a good cry." Irina answered her. Sydney looked directly at Jack, as if asking, 'what did you do?' Paris, on the other hand, looked at her mother's wrist first before looking Irina straight in the eye. Her mother has a bruise.

"Come, let's put ice on that." She said to her mother and took Irina's hand. Sydney went with them. Jack and Vaughn were left in the basketball court, uncomfortable silence hanging in the air.

"Where's Agent Marlowe?" Jack asked Vaughn a few minutes after the three ladies left.

"He's not here, sir. He had a family emergency. I verified what he said back with Dixon. Agent Westfield's also not here." he answered. Jack nodded his head and left to go to the security section. Vaughn thought that Jack didn't want to be confronted by Sydney in the same room he confronted her mother.

There are still eight hours before Irina is to go back to her cell. Most probably eight hours of arguments, eight hours of confrontation. Vaughn went to the kitchen, thinking, 'Another exciting day in Michael Vaughn's life.'


	10. chapter nine

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters nor do I profit when I write these stories.  
  
A/N- Hello. Hope you like this chapter (of course you can review it...) thanks...  
  
CHAPTER NINE  
  
"So, how is your father?" Irina asked Sydney. They were in the living room, drinking tea, talking for about almost four hours. The subject solely about Jack never came up in those four hours.  
  
"He's fine. Still the same... I guess." Sydney replied. They were alone in the living room. Paris left them an hour and thirty minutes after they had eaten lunch.  
  
"Is he seeing... somebody?" Irina asked her.  
  
"I don't really know. I don't think so, though." Her daughter answered. "Why do you ask?"  
  
"Nothing. I was just curious." Irina answered. Sydney nodded knowing that there was something more to the question but didn't pursue it.  
  
"What did dad tell you back in the basketball court before lunch?" Sydney asked her mother. She wanted to know what her father said to make the great Irina Derevko cry.  
  
"Nothing, just something from the past. It doesn't really matter." Irina shrugged but didn't look at Sydney.  
  
'It must have meant something to you since it made you cry.' Sydney thought. She looked at her watch. 5.00 pm. Her mother has another hour before her 'freedom' will be taken away from her again.  
  
"Was Sark as obnoxious when he was younger?" Sydney asked.  
  
"No, he was a darling..." Irina answered.

---xxx---  
  
Paris was in her room, using one of the computers lent to her by the CIA. They had their debriefing an hour before lunchtime and she was challenged by Marshall to penetrate his mainframe and leave a message. He boasted of 99% non-penetration of hackers in his system.  
  
_"Oh, but it's in its early_ _stages."_ Marshall said to her when he issued the 'challenge'.  
  
'Let's see what Mr. Flinkman has in store for us.' Paris thought as the fingers in her left hand began to tap on the keyboard. She left Irina and Sydney almost four hours ago and both of them were still probably chatting. She also has her feet up the chair. A bad habit her mom tried- still tries, to correct.  
  
There was a knock on the door.  
  
"Come in." She said, looking at the screen. A couple of numbers flashed in her screen.  
  
Jack entered. There is less than an hour before Irina returns to her prison. 'She might want to see her mother without a glass separating them.' He thought. Paris was staring at the computer screen when he entered, so he closed the door and waited.  
  
It was a while before she finally acknowledged his presence because she doesn't know whether to be angry with him or not. For one thing, he was the cause of the bruise in her mother's wrist and the tears in her eyes. But her mother slapped him. She knew because she saw a faint imprint of Irina's hand in his left cheek. 'He was slapped quite hard.' She thought as she turned to look at her father.  
  
"Yes, how may I help you?" Paris asked in a formal tone that matches her accent. 'I sound like a receptionist.' She thought.  
  
"Your mother will leave in forty minutes. I thought you might want to say goodbye." Jack answered. He noticed the formality in the tone but didn't mind it. He knew that she was angry.  
  
"Yes, thank you for telling me. I'll be downstairs." Paris said to him and turned her attention back to the computer. She was dismissing her father like she was flicking a fly off the table and it feels bad doing it to him. 'Yeah, and he does that all the time to you.' she thought.  
  
The look on Paris's face resembles the one that Sydney gives him when she doesn't want to talk to him. He mentally sighed and thought 'Stubborn as mules. All of them.' He turned around and proceeded to go out.  
  
"She loves you so much. Do you know that?" Paris said, not looking away from the computer.  
  
Jack turned his head to look at her. "Smart as you are, I'm afraid that you can be quite naïve sometimes."  
  
"Why, are you afraid I'm right?" she asked.  
  
"No. I'm afraid that your mother might have fooled you after all." Paris looked at him. He turned back from her again to go out of the room. But her next question made him stop in his tracks.  
  
"Do you still love her?"  
  
"No." he answered, but his back was facing her.  
  
"You're lying." She said.  
  
"What?" he asked and faced her.  
  
"You're lying." She repeated. "The tone that you used when you said that it was your friend who was seduced by my mother, the tone that you used when you said that, that same friend is now dead and the tone that you used this morning after your phone call is the same tone you are now using."  
  
Jack opened his mouth to say something but closed it again.  
  
"She told me a lot of times that she loves my father very much. She also told Sydney that she loves you. She tells it to us but not to you. With what she did to you, I understand that you will not really believe her. But ask Sydney. Ask her about the skating rink." Paris said and returned her attention back to the computer.  
  
Jack stared at her then went out of the room, thinking about what he had heard.

---xxx---

"Goodbye mom." Paris said as she hugged her mother (its not really a hug since her arm's in a sling.)  
  
"I'll see you when you visit." Irina said and kissed the top of Paris's forehead. She kissed her mother's cheek. "I love you. Take care." Irina said.  
  
"I love you too." Paris replied in Russian. She stepped back and went behind Jack's back. Sydney stepped forward to say goodbye.  
  
"Bye mom." She said. Irina hugged her. Sydney remembered the last time she and her mother hugged. Armed guards separated them. She relished this moment.  
  
"I love you. Take care of your sister and your father." Irina whispered to her and kissed the top of Sydney's forehead. She stepped back and smiled at them.  
  
"Are you ready to go?" Irina asked Jack. He lifted his left eyebrow and showed her the handcuffs.  
  
"You will be wearing this until after you are safely inside your cell." Jack said. Irina shrugged and allowed her to be cuffed. They walked out of the house, with Jack's coat covering Irina's shackles. They walked towards a dark blue SUV, their vehicle to the Operations Facility. Vaughn and Sydney will be sitting up front, with Vaughn driving. Jack will be at the backseat with Irina. Back-up security will be following them.  
  
"One of your agents, Agent Marlowe?" Irina asked a few minutes after they left. Vaughn and Sydney seem not to hear their conversation.  
  
"What about him?" Jack replied.  
  
"You can't trust him."  
  
Jack raised an eyebrow. "And why not?"  
  
"He used to work for me. And he might be working for another organization other than the CIA."  
  
"And how did you know that this Agent Marlowe was one of yours? His record is spotless, no direct or indirect ties to terrorists or any criminal organizations."  
  
"I saw him this morning, when he talked to Agent Vaughn. I recognized him but he didn't recognize me. Khasinau gave me his file when he was recruiting people for my organization. It seems to me that he fancied the young man." Irina answered. She saw Jack's eyes tightening.  
  
"How do we really know that he doesn't really recognize you? Or that you didn't plant him in the CIA?"  
  
"Khasinau recruited him. And he was a Khasinau personal henchman." Irina replied. She was particularly alarmed when she saw Agent Marlowe, who according to Khasinau's files has no distinguishing characteristics in hand- to-hand combat or in the weapons department, being greeted like an old friend by Sydney and Paris.  
  
'What the hell does she mean by that?' Jack asked himself and took out his cell phone. "Yes, this is Bristow. I want to have a copy of Dean Marlowe's files on my table in fifteen minutes. This is urgent." He said and ended the call. He looked at Irina and expected to see a smirk on her face. He didn't see it.  
  
"They greeted him like he was an old friend of theirs. It will be hard to fight a friend." Irina said. She thought of Francie clone and Sydney. 'Its especially hard to fight an enemy who looks like your best friend.'  
  
They both looked at the front, remembering all what they passed by. A few minutes later, they arrived at the Operational Facilities. 

[Two weeks later]  
  
"Hey." Vaughn said as he sat down opposite Sydney. It was nearing dinnertime and they were still in the office.  
  
"Hey." Sydney greeted then looked up to Vaughn. She smiled at him.  
  
For a split second, their eyes locked. Then, Vaughn grinned.  
  
"What?" Sydney asked.  
  
"Nothing... it's just that... never mind."  
  
Sydney smiled then shook her head.  
  
"Hey, since its nearing dinnertime, Why not eat out? There's this new place near your apartment. It's a Spanish Restaurant. Café Ysabela."  
  
"Michael Vaughn, are you asking me out?" Sydney asked, smiling.  
  
"Yeah. I'm asking you out." Vaughn, who was also smiling, replied.  
  
Before Sydney can give an answer, Marshall appeared behind Vaughn.  
  
"Uh... Hey... Dixon wants us in his office... its about... you know, your mission in Madagascar. Its about the thing you've retrieved." Marshall said excitedly.  
  
"Thanks, we'll be right there." Vaughn said.  
  
Vaughn and Sydney stood up. "Guess I'll take a rain check, then." Vaughn said.  
  
"Nah, this might not take long." Sydney replied as they walked towards Dixon's office. They met Weiss on the way.  
  
When they entered, they found that Dixon, Jack and Marshall were already there. They closed the door and Dixon waited for them to be seated before he started.  
  
"The artifact you've retrieved in Madagascar is, unsurprisingly, a Rambaldi artifact. What is surprising is that it is not part of the forty-seven relics that Rambaldi had described."  
  
"You mean there's the forty-eight?" Sydney asked.  
  
"Possibly. Or it maybe a part his book, we don't know. What we know is that it's a prophecy. A continuation of the prophecy on page forty-seven. Marshall and the rest in the linguistics translated it." Dixon said as he motioned Marshall to start.  
  
"Well, as you can see..." Marshall said as he clicked on the projector on his right.  
  
"This is the prophecy on page forty seven. While this is the prophecy on the other page that was retrieved in Madagascar." He continued as he turned on the projector to his left. The pages were almost identical but the images were not. If it was Sydney on page forty-seven, it was Paris on the unknown page.  
  
"Looks the same right?" Marshall asked. He waited before someone actually agreed to what he said. "But its not. As you can see the images are not really the same and the design on their dresses are different. The text is also different."  
  
Marshall took one of the folders on the desk. "The text on this unknown page is complementary to page forty-seven. But in here, it says that '_this girl in this page will possess the same unseen marks as the woman I had earlier described. She is one of the three that can contain her destructive force and balance her unbinding fury. Once they meet for the second time, they will be inseparable. But if she will not see the beauty of the sun or be separated eternally from the chosen one, she too will unleash this unbinding fury. They will separately, but surely, destroy everything in their path._' Its complementary, but at the same time, contradictory."  
  
"Sydney, you have shown several proofs that you are Rambaldi's prophecy. It is possible that your sister is also part of this great... unknown." Dixon said.  
  
"But it's also possible that it's mom and her sister who's in the prophecy." Sydney answered.  
  
"Its possible, but think about it. You've read her psychological profile. She keeps her anger until the she snaps. You found her inside a metal box that doesn't let in light. And her eyes had almost been destroyed because she lived in a dark for almost twelve months. Then you. You have this anger that never settled down until she arrived."  
  
"Yes, but-" The ringing of Dixon's phone interrupted Sydney. He immediately answered it.  
  
"What?! Are you sure? Send in a team, right now! Another one will follow in ten minutes." Dixon said and slammed down the phone.  
  
"We have to cut this meeting short. The safe house is being attacked."


	11. chapter ten

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters and even if I do, what will I do with them? I also do not profit when I write these fictions. Thank you and have a nice day.  
  
**CHAPTER 10**  
  
They arrived at the safe house exactly ten minutes later. Upon arriving, they saw some of the agents trying to get indoors.  
  
"Sir, there are others inside but the safe house went to automatic lockdown. Nobody can get in and nobody can get out." One of the agents said to Jack. Together with him were Sydney, Vaughn, Weiss and six more men.  
  
"Marshall, can you get us in?" Jack asked to his com link.  
  
"You can get in by shutting down the security system in the basement. But then again, you need someone from the inside to do that." Marshall replied, the clicking of the keyboards could be heard in the com link. He was in the office tracking down their movements. "But there are two hidden entrances that are not affected by the automatic lockdown. One is in the kitchen and the other... in the gym."  
  
Sydney looked at her father. "Dad, I know where the entrance to the kitchen is. Agent Westfield and I entered there once."  
  
"Okay, take Vaughn and Weiss with you and half of the agents. I'll lead the rest to the gym." Jack ordered.  
  
They moved as quickly as possible. Sydney led her team to the bushes near the garage and reached the door she had entered a few weeks ago. She tried to open it and found it unlocked.  
  
They went in quietly and immediately got drenched.  
  
"Dad, we're in." Sydney whispered as she looked up. The sprinklers were turned on. Apparently, someone tried to burn something inside the house.  
  
"Copy that." Her father replied.  
  
Except for Sydney, who went to the basement, all headed to the other rooms. Bodies of CIA agents and the attackers were sprawled around. They checked their vital statistics.  
  
"They're alive." Vaughn said after he checked for pulse. "Cuff them." He ordered as he tied one of the unknown men.  
  
"Have you seen the girl?" Weiss asked the men. All of them replied negative. They then heard simultaneous clicks. Sydney had successfully shut down the security system. She also stopped the sprinklers.  
  
"I found her." A voice in their com link said. It was Jack. "She's in the pool, I need paramedics."

x-x-x

"Is she going to be okay?" Sydney asked the doctors. Jack and Vaughn were with her in the hospital covering for the CIA. Jack found Paris at the bottom of the pool, stiff as a board. Jack thought she was dead.  
  
"Yes. But the tranquilizer they used originated from a snake whose venom paralyses its victims. It seems that she had two big doses of it."  
  
"Will it have any negative effects?" Jack asked.  
  
"Not really. But we have to see these following days. We're still trying to flush it out of her system."  
  
"Can we see her?" Jack asked. Sydney looked her father while Vaughn's phone suddenly rang. He excused himself to take the call.  
  
"No, not at this moment. She's still in critical condition. The wounds she had acquired in your past mission opened up. But we will call you if it's okay to see her."  
  
"Those men tried to take her and now, you don't want me to see my daughter?" Jack said in a low, feral tone. Sydney looked at him, surprised that Jack had actually acknowledged, in front of them, that Paris is his daughter.  
  
"Agent Bristow, I understand your concern, but there's nothing we can do but wait." The doctor said and sighed. "I have to go now." He said and turned to walk away.  
  
"Dad, she's going to be okay." Sydney said to Jack.  
  
"Your mother will kill me if she has the chance. She warned of me this."  
  
"But you'll have to tell her. She might wonder why nobody's asking her questions, weird or not." Sydney replied. Whenever Paris wants to see Irina, she always gives the excuse that she's going to ask some questions.  
  
Jack didn't reply. Instead, he sat down on one of the seats. Sydney sighed then sat down beside him.  
  
Vaughn appeared a few minutes later.  
  
"Dixon called me. He said that your phone's off." He said to Jack. "One of the men confessed. He said it was Agent Marlowe who led them."  
  
When Jack heard those words, he stood up. Vaughn saw a glint of murder in his eyes.  
  
"Where is he?" Jack asked. Sydney looked at Vaughn. He didn't answer.  
  
"Agent Vaughn, where is Dean Marlowe being held?" Jack asked again, this time in a menacing tone.  
  
"In the interrogation room in the ops center." Vaughn answered.  
  
Without saying a word, Jack left. Vaughn and Sydney were left in the hallway.  
  
"Vaughn, Dad's going to kill him." Sydney said.  
  
Vaughn looked at her "That is what Dixon wants to happen. Marlowe isn't talking."  
  
Sydney sighed then sat down again. Vaughn sat down beside her.  
  
"Are you going to stay?" Vaughn asked.  
  
"Yeah."  
  
"I'll stay with you." 

x-x-x  
  
Jack was seething in mad rage when he reached the ops center. The employees in the office seem to sense it because they all tried to keep out of his way.  
  
"Agent Bristow, Agent Dixon's..." One of the girls said.  
  
"Where is Dean Marlowe?" Jack asked, ignoring the girl.  
  
"He's upstairs, sir."  
  
Jack walked hurriedly up the stairs. When he reached the floor, he headed straight to the interrogation rooms.  
  
He kicked the door open. Dixon was inside, talking to their suspect.  
  
"Jack..." Dixon started. But he was cut off.  
  
"Leave us." Jack said. Dixon didn't move. "I said leave us!" Jack growled.  
  
Dixon left the room. But he will monitor the interrogation from the outside.  
  
Jack looked at Dean Marlowe. His eyes were unreadable. The head of security in the safe house looked up at him. He was beaten up badly.  
  
"Here for revenge, Agent Bristow?" He asked. His hands were cuffed behind him.  
  
Jack didn't say anything. Instead he paced around in front of the agent.  
  
"But maybe not. Paris told me that her father doesn't really notice her. Are you here to make me say who I work for?" He asked.  
  
Still no answer.  
  
"You might be wondering who beat me up like this. Well, it's not one of your agents. It was your bitch daughter."  
  
Suddenly, Jack lunged towards him and slammed Agent Marlowe to the wall. Jack's left arm was pinned across Agent Marlowe's neck.  
  
"Well then, it seems that you're lucky my daughter let you live." Jack hissed.  
  
The man started to choke. Jack pressed his arm even tighter.  
  
"Now, tell me who you are working for. You very well know that heads will roll. You don't want yours to be the first one, would you?" Jack said. Agent Marlowe spat at him.  
  
Jack reached for his gun then pushed the into Agent Marlowe's mouth.  
  
"Tell me or you head will get blown off.  
  
Agent Marlowe started to mumble something. Jack took of the gun off his mouth.  
  
"You can't shoot me in the mouth or I can't say anything." He said smugly. Jack took step back and lowered the gun to his side.  
  
"You're right." He said then shot him in the left leg.  
  
The man in front of him screamed in pain. Blood sputtered out of his leg.  
  
"Goddamit! Goddamit!" he screamed. Dixon rushed inside.  
  
"Jack! What the hell are you doing?"  
  
"Now, Dean Marlowe, who are you working for? Or do you want me to shoot your other leg?"  
  
"Goddamit! I'm under Sark but Sloane ordered me to take her!!!"  
  
"Sark works for the Covenant." Dixon said.  
  
"Sark is under Sloane. Sloane is one of the heads of the Covenant." Marlowe sputtered. The pain was getting unbearable. He looked at Jack and Dixon. Jack was aiming his gun at him again.  
  
"What the f are you doing?! You've got your answers!"  
  
"You ordered people to storm in a safe house you're supposed to defend. You were willing to sacrifice everybody to get what you want. But that didn't happen."  
  
"She incapacitated all of us! Westfield tried to help her but he went down. She doesn't need a fing safe house! She doesn't need to be protected!" Marlowe screamed.  
  
Jack glared at him, his gun still aimed at the man.  
  
"Jack." Dixon said. "Put the gun down. Leave him to us."  
  
Jack looked at Dixon, then to Agent Marlowe. He lowered his gun, but his eyes seem to say, 'You won't be so lucky next time.'  
  
He left the room. He's going to inform Irina with what happened.  
  
[Seventy-two hours later]  
  
Sydney was inside Paris' room. She was watching over her sister, who hasn't woken up yet.  
  
The door opened. Sydney looked behind her. It was Jack.  
  
"How is she?" Jack asked in a soft voice.  
  
"Still the same." Sydney replied. Jack took the chair beside her.  
  
"It's nearing dinnertime. Why don't you get something to eat? Vaughn's outside." Jack said. Sydney looked at her father.  
  
"Why? Are you too tired to have dinner with him?" Jack asked.  
  
"No, I'm not tired." Sydney answered.  
  
"Go on. I'll stay with her." Jack said. Sydney looked at him, as if deciding to believe what he's saying.  
  
"Are you sure its okay with you?"  
  
"Yes." Jack answered.  
  
"No, I mean me and Vaughn."  
  
Jack looked at Sydney, and then raised his right brow. "Its just dinner."  
  
"Uh... okay. Thanks, dad." Sydney said, kissed him in the cheek and left.  
  
[An hour later]  
  
"Yes, I'm Michael Vaughn, I called in a while ago for a table for two?" Vaughn said to the maître d'. Even if the restaurant was new, it was full of people. The food, apparently, was very good.  
  
"This way sir." The maître d' said and led to their table. It was in the corner, near the windows. They thanked him as he took their orders and left.  
  
"I can't believe it. Your dad?" Vaughn said.  
  
"Yeah. I mean, he was like, 'go and have dinner with Vaughn.'"  
  
"Your father has these personality changes. I don't understand it." Vaughn said. Sydney smiled.  
  
"You know, after this incident with the safe house, it seems that he can't pretend apathy around Paris anymore."  
  
"Your sister's amazing. She's like... your clone. You know, all those moves?" Vaughn said. He had watched the surveillance video and witnessed how Paris incapacitated all her kidnappers.  
  
"Not really. I think she's better."  
  
"Nobody's better than you." Vaughn replied.  
  
"Oh, please. For you, maybe." Sydney said.  
  
Silence.  
  
"You know, your father's the first one who noticed that Lauren was acting weirdly. I didn't listen to him." Vaughn said.  
  
"She was your wife. How can you listen to another person?" Sydney asked as she sipped her wine.  
  
"You know, she acted a lot like you. Well, that was when we first met. So I guess, that was ruse to get to me."  
  
"Vaughn, let's turn a new leaf." Sydney said.  
  
"It's okay with you? I mean, with me again?" Vaughn asked.  
  
"If you want to."  
  
"Of course I want to." Vaughn replied.  
  
Sydney smiled, exposing her deep dimples. Vaughn smiled back.  
  
"Wait, what about my mom?" Sydney asked.  
  
"Your mom? What about her?" Vaughn replied.  
  
"My mom. What she did to your father."  
  
"Syd, it's the past. And look at it this way. If it wasn't your mother who had been with your dad, I will not have met you."  
  
Sydney, after processing what he had just said, nodded her head. Vaughn smiled.  
  
A few minutes later, the food arrived. They had a pleasant dinner, their work, not interrupting them. They talked about everything. Hockey, the neighbors, Marshall's new gadgets etc.  
  
They finished their dinner, split the bill and decided to take a walk.  
  
"Thank you for a wonderful dinner." Sydney said as the cool wind kissed their faces.  
  
"Thank you for a wonderful dinner." Vaughn replied.  
  
Sydney laughed. "Let's get dad something to eat. He's still in the hospital."  
  
"Sure." Vaughn said and went with her to the Chinese restaurant. 'Jack's really lucky to have two wonderful daughters.'

A/N- Hello. Hope you liked it enough to leave a review. Thanks :D 


	12. chapter eleven

DISCLAIMER: I do not own any of the ALIAS or any of these characters (well, except for my original characters…). JJ Abrams, Touchstone Television and ABC rightfully own them. I'm writing these fictions to stop them from dancing around my head, together with the characters in CSI. Thank you.

CHAPTER ELEVEN

__

She was in bed when she heard something crash. Her mother told her that she can sleep through a world war if ever it occurs in front of their house, but she knows that when something bad is going to happen, she wakes up.

She can't breathe very well. That's why she is in bed early. Agent Marlowe accidentally gave her tuna burger as a snack.

'Well, I hope it was accidental.' She thought to herself. She only took a small bite; her medication should be able to handle it.

At the corner of her eyes, she saw shadows lurking in the windows. So she discreetly went out of bed and approached the window. A man in all black and night vision goggles, tried to open the window.

'Stupid, it's hard to open that window from the outside.' She thought. To her surprise, it opened easily. This indicated to her that something was very wrong inside the safe house.

Three men went in. As soon as they entered, they immediately went to the bed.

It was empty.

She came from behind. It was hard to wrestle with three men when one arm is broken, but she managed to take one of the men's guns and shoot them with it. It was a tranquilizer and it's silenced.

They all went down. 'Never mess with a professional killer.' She thought. She knows there are more of them. She took one of the men's equipment and her cell phone and subtly went out of her room.

She proceeded to the kitchen and took one of the airtight zip lock bags from the cabinets and placed her cell phone inside. She then heard noises in the living room. Out of curiosity, she checked that part first.

There were more men. Almost ten in this room. And there are others.

She took a deep breath. She knows she can't take all of them at once, especially with a broken right arm. But she took her chance. She wasn't called 'La Nina Loca' for nothing.

She went for the 'Ghost' assault and started shooting them one by one. But after a few men went down, she ran out of ammunition. She mulled for a while on what to do but she knew that she hasn't got a lot of time, so she decided to have a little hand-to-hand combat.

She moved forward, acting as fast as she could. She knew that if she will be tranquilized, she would lose.

Like the maniac she is, she handled the remaining men like they were dummies that can't hit back. But she found out what they were doing in the living room.

They were setting it on fire.

The automatic sprinklers started to do their job and rained the whole room with water. She knows that the place will go to automatic lockdown and decided to leave through the kitchen. But she then heard somebody in the kitchen so she went to the gym. There was another hidden entrance/exit there.

Taking a gun with her, she hurried to the gym but found it infested with more all black, night vision goggle-wearing men.

She attacked first, once again. She didn't know how she did it, but she took all of them down. Kicks, punches and shots were traded and thankfully, she didn't receive any shots from them.

She was going to shoot the last of the men when some stabbed her in the arm.

"Are you stupid?! He said not to hurt her!" she heard one of the last conscious men shout.

"Shut up and tranq her!" She heard her stabber say. He sounded like Agent Marlowe. Not minding the pain in her arm, she elbowed the stabber on the face and hit him on the face with the tranquilizer. She kicked him in the face and was going to do more damage when she was shot in the shoulder. But she seemed immune to it.

She moved forward, and shot the remaining men. After a few minutes she was shot again, this time from behind. She managed to look at the person and tranquilize him.

She can now feel the effect of the tranquilizer. She stumbled and fell but didn't feel any pain when she went down. She fell over the pool and she can now feel water overwhelming her. She knows how to swim but she has this fear of drowning. The fact that she can't move any part of her body added to the panic that was starting to bubble in her throat.

'I'm going to die.'

Paris opened her eyes and saw a sterile-looking ceiling. She doesn't feel pain in any part of her body at all. She last remembered drowning.

She tried to sit up.

"No, don't." she heard someone say. She looked to her left. It was her father.

"Agent Bristow." She said. She stiffened up as Jack helped her up. He sensed the controlled feeling.

"Are you hungry?" he asked then looked around. All he saw were the empty boxes of Chinese food Sydney brought him yesterday evening. "What do you want eat?"

It took her a while before she answered. "Anything."

"Even hospital food? Come on, what do you really want to eat for breakfast?" Jack asked.

Paris looked at him. He was acting… strangely.

"Sir? Are you okay?" Paris asked.

Jack looked at her. 'Sir? Did she just call me sir?' he asked himself. "Yes. I'm… fine. Why do you ask?"

"Nothing, sir."

"Can you please stop calling me sir? Or Agent Bristow? Its too… formal." Jack asked.

"What will I call you then? Mr. Bristow?" Paris asked.

Jack raised an eyebrow. "Of course not. What about… dad?"

"Dad?" Paris asked. It cannot be traced in her voice but she was surprised.

"Or Daddy, or Father, or Papa… what else? Padre? Pater? Itay? Ama?" Jack asked jokingly.

"Dad. Dad, will be fine." Paris replied. "Thank you."

"No, thank you. I took you for granted. I should be saying sorry."

Paris didn't reply. Instead she looked down. Jack looked at her.

"I'm sorry." Jack said.

Paris looked at him. "No, don't. It's okay."

"Are you sure?" Jack asked.

"Yes." Paris answered. She smiled. This was the first time she smiled at him.

Jack saw that she and Sydney have the same dimples in their cheeks. But they have the same smile.

"You have my smile." Jack whispered.

"Yes, mom told me. But she said I have her sneer." Paris replied.

"Your mother talks about me?" Jack asked.

"She answers my questions but she rarely talks about you." Paris answered.

Jack nodded. "Do you feel okay? Nothing aching or anything?" he asked.

Paris shook her head. Silence followed after that.

A few minutes later, someone knocked on the door. It was Sydney.

"Hi dad. Oh, hey… you're awake." Sydney greeted and gave Jack and Paris a smile. She closed the door and approached them. "I'm sorry; I thought you were still asleep. What do you want to eat?" Sydney asked to Paris as she gave her father breakfast.

"Anything will do. Except tuna, of course." Paris answered.

"Okay, I'll be the one to get something for you." Jack said, volunteering first. "Just stay with her for a while until I return, okay?" he asked Sydney.

"Okay." Sydney answered, and then smiled at her father. Jack stood up then left the room.

"Okay, he's acting a bit weird." Sydney said as she turned to Paris.

"Yeah. I agree with you." Paris replied then smiled. "He told me that I could call him dad."

Sydney smiled at her. "So, that's why you look happier this morning." She said as she sat down on the chair. "Did he also tell you that he asked Devlin to let you stay with him?"

"He did?" Paris asked.

"Yeah, he did. But I guess he's still waiting for the 'go' signal." Sydney said. "He was really concerned about you."

"What about Agent Westfield?" Paris asked.

"Oh, he's fine. He got out of the hospital yesterday."

"That's wonderful. Did you know that he and his wife have two sets of twins?" Paris asked. "What about Agent Marlowe?"

Sydney cleared her throat. She was uncertain on how she will answer the question.

"Uh… I don't know how to say this… but… Agent Marlowe…" Sydney paused. Paris was looking at her expectantly.

"Is he dead?" Paris asked.

"No. But he led the attack. He was also the person who stabbed you in the arm."

"Oh." Was Paris' only reply. She was quiet for a few seconds then said, "So that's why he gave me tuna burger for dinner."

"He did?" Sydney asked.

"Yeah. I sort of, took a bite. I guess he wanted to subdue me first."

A knock came on the door. It was Vaughn.

"Hi. Good morning." Vaughn greeted as he went in.

"Hi." Sydney and Paris greeted back. He closed the door.

"Where's your father?"

"He ran off to get Paris breakfast." Sydney answered. Just as she said this, Jack opened the door.

Vaughn greeted him and Jack, to the surprise of everyone in the room, greeted back.

"Uh… I bought you chicken and egg sandwich and milk. There's a deli in front of the hospital." Jack said uncertainly to Paris as he handed the brown paper bag to her.

"Thank you." She said after she received it and smiled at him.

"Uh, dad, we'd better get going. Dixon's expecting us." Sydney said and kissed her father on the cheek. "Get well soon, Paris." She said, smiling at her and left together with Vaughn, who also said goodbye.

When they left, Jack and Paris ate in silence. Paris was really hungry and she doesn't know why. Jack, on the other hand, was eating in an almost meditative manner.

"Uh… dad?" Paris asked hesitantly to Jack after a few minutes.

Jack looked at her. Paris smiled at him.

"It's nice to finally meet you."

Sydney is on her way to their old house, to have dinner with Paris and her dad. Jack was almost an hour ahead of her, since he is the chef for the night. Paris moved in with their father almost four days ago.

Devlin allowed Paris to stay with their father and Jack, upon hearing the news, ordered the transfer of all Paris' things from Britain to the United States. Paris was also going to be a full time employee of the CIA and will be field rated this weekend. Sydney was sure that her sister's going to pass with flying colors.

She slowed down when she neared the house. As she parked her car in the driveway, she heard the faint melody of _Eine Kline Nachtmusik_ of Mozart being played on the piano. And it was being played beautifully. The music was coming from the house.

Sydney, who brought a box of chocolate cake, walked to the big mahogany door and rang the doorbell. The music stopped and a few seconds later, the door was opened.

"Hi."

It was Paris.

"Oooh. You brought cake." Paris said as she let her in. She offered to take the box from Sydney.

"Yeah. Where's dad?" Sydney asked.

"He's in the kitchen." Paris answered as they walked to the kitchen.

"Was that you playing the piano?" Sydney asked.

"Yes. I am so happy that my sling is gone. Even if I still have this bandage" Paris replied as they entered the kitchen. A delicious aroma was filling the room.

"Wow, you're fast dad. And that smell's delicious. What are you cooking?" Sydney asked, approaching her father.

"Pasta Alfredo and Fillet Mignon. Paris prepared the ingredients." Jack answered as he turned to look at her.

"You look nice." Sydney said after she had surveyed what her father's wearing. He took off his coat and wore an apron over his shirt, tie and trousers.

"May I taste?" Sydney asked.

"Paris asked me that question and she got banned to the living room." Jack answered.

"Just for asking once?" Sydney asked and turned to Paris.

"Not really. I asked him ten times." Paris replied and then gave her sister an impish smile. "But maybe if you help him, you can get a taste. I don't really know anything about cooking."

"Mom didn't teach you?" Sydney asked as she took one apron near the potholders.

"She tried. But I think we both got traumatized when I almost burned the kitchen. So, I just settled with washing the dishes."

"So, you're going to wash the dishes later?" Sydney asked,

"Yeah." Paris answered and smiled at her. Sydney smiled back.

"So, dad. How can I help?"

Paris was sitting on the floor of her new room, looking at the leather bound diary in her hands. Sydney left a few minutes ago and it was getting late.

She heard her father's footsteps pass by the door. She hurriedly stood up and went out of her room.

Paris went out and followed Jack to his room. Before entering, she knocked first.

"It's getting late." Jack remarked as she went in.

Paris shrugged. "I need to give you something." She said.

"What is it?" Jack asked, his eyebrows knitting a little.

"Well, Uncle Danilov, mom's twin brother, asked me to give this to my father. To you." Paris said as she handed to him the leather bound diary.

"Why?" Jack asked, receiving it.

"Explanations. He said that it was partially his fault." Paris replied.

Jack looked at her.

"I don't know what he meant. I mean, I've been told weirder reasons, after all, I've been keeping things for my relatives and close friends, like some sort of secret keeper or something." Paris said.

Jack looked at the diary. "Did your mother made you keep anything for her?"

"Yes." Paris said, remembering a white-gold ring in a silver chain she's been keeping for her mother for almost ten years.

"Can you keep something for me?'

"Sure. As long as I can hide it." Paris answered. She watched as her father walked towards one of the drawers near the king-sized bed and took a small box inside.

"I haven't worn this in the last twenty years. But I've always kept it." Jack said as he handed it to her. Paris took it and placed it in her pocket. "You're not going to look what's inside?"

"Maybe later." Paris said. She knows that her father's a bit uncomfortable with her opening something personal in front of him.

"Go to sleep." Jack said gently and gave her a little smile when she gave him a goodnight kiss.

Paris walked to her room and closed the door after her. She sat on her bed and took the box from her pocket.

She opened it and saw a simple gold ring she has seen before.

Paris stood up and went to one of her tables to get her jewelry box. She took the ring that her mother gave her and compared it to what her father gave her.

They were the same.

She's keeping her parent's wedding rings, for them.


	13. chapter twelve

DISCLAIMER: I do not own any of the characters (except for the original ones) nor do I profit economically when I write these fictions. Thank you.

CHAPTER **TWELVE**

[Several weeks later]

Dixon was sitting in the conference room, waiting for the people he asked to come for the meeting to arrive. After a few minutes, entered the room.

"This is Aram Tour." Dixon started as he turned on the monitor, showing a photo of an attractive man in his mid fifties. He looked like a businessman.

"Aram Tour is a very rich man. All of his businesses are legal and successful. He is also a Rambaldi follower. Echelon recorded a conversation between our informant in the Covenant and Arvin Sloane. His name cropped up. Sloane said that he's quite informative about Rambaldi's other prophecies. They are going to kidnap him."

"What do you want us to do?" Weiss asked. He was seated in between Sydney and Marshall.

"Stop this kidnapping and convince him not to align himself with Sloane and the Covenant at all cost. And if he asks for it, protection for his family." Dixon answered.

"Where and when will this kidnapping occur?' Vaughn, who was seated between Paris and Jack, asked.

"In Italy. Mr. Tour will be holding a charity ball, a formal party, for one of his aid organizations. He will be kidnapped at the latter part of the night." Dixon answered. "Aram Tour is a bit distrustful when it comes to the CIA. So it will be quite hard to convince him. But…"

"But what?" Paris asked a few minutes later after Dixon paused.

"It was found out that Aram Tour's very good friends with Irina Derevko." Dixon answered.

"He is?" They all asked simultaneously.

"How?" Marshall asked.

"Irina Derevko saved his life. He was going to be executed by the KGB when Ms. Derevko intervened. She also helped him get started with his car business, the first business he put up."

"Okay. So what?" Weiss asked.

"Aram Tour will listen to Irina Derevko. It was learned that the last person she talked to before she turned herself in was him."

"Are you saying that she accompany us in the mission?" Jack asked.

Dixon nodded. "All of you will go. Yes, including you, Marshall."

"What? What will I do?" Marshall asked.

"You will be with Weiss. The two of you will be monitoring them from the outside. Vaughn, Sydney and Paris will be back-up to Jack, who will be with Irina." Dixon replied. "I've already cleared this with Langley and FBI. Ms. Derevko will be injected with both a passive and active transmitter, plus a necklace layered with C-4 that can be activated with a remote detonator."

The whole room was quiet.

"Does mom know?" Paris asked.

"Yes. And we've already assigned you your covers." Dixon said and distributed folders around the table.

"Sydney will be the only daughter of an oil tycoon who was educated in a boarding school in Switzerland. Paris, you'll be a pianist for the British Philharmonic and you will play for the party. Jack, you and Irina will be a billionaire couple, happily married and very affectionate to each other. Vaughn you are the heir to a multi-million real-estate company." Dixon continued.

"There will be other CIA agents, but they are going to be part of the security detail and not be part in the convincing of Mr. Tour's cooperation. Are there any questions?"

He looked around. There seemed to be no questions. "Marshall will brief you in your Optec. Your plane leaves tonight. Good luck."

Sydney was reading the folder that was given to her by Dixon. She is sitting on the seat near her father and her mother who were busy reviewing the mission. They are seated facing each other 

She looked behind her. Marshall, who is doing something in the computer, is seated across Paris. She has a portable electric piano with her and she was busy studying the pieces that were given to her. She's wearing earphones so that she's the only one who can hear the music she's playing.

Adjacent to them were Vaughn and Weiss. Vaughn is seated across Weiss and they too, were busy reviewing the mission.

Sydney heard Paris sigh. She looked like she's going to tear out her hair and frustration. She was looking at one of the music sheets. Sydney stood up and went to her.

Sydney sat down beside her sister and looked at what she was doing.

Paris noticed her and took off the earphones. "I don't understand it." She said.

"What don't you understand?"

"Why did they give me pieces from almost all of the musical period? It's a bit… it's hard to memorize ten pieces, one of them, thirteen minutes long, in just sixteen hours." Paris replied and showed her the sheets.

"I have Baroque, Classical, the Romantic, the Impressionistic and twentieth century compositions. There's Chopin, Rachmaninoff, Tchaikovsky, Beethoven. I have Jazz, and two from musicals. The content is just so… overwhelming."

"I'm sorry." Marshall said. "Those were in the list of what Aram Tour wanted to be played in his party." He explained.

"No need to say sorry, Mr. Flinkman." Paris said to him and smiled.

Sydney took one of the sheets. It was a Chopin piece. "Do you know this?" She asked. It was _Waltz in D Flat_.

"Yes. That was my recital piece." Paris said. She took a deep breath as she took another Chopin's masterpiece _Scherzo No.2 in B Flat Minor_. "This is so exasperating."

"What is so exasperating?" Irina asked as she approached them.

"Her piano pieces." Sydney said. Irina sat down beside Marshall. Marshall sat up a straight. He looked like a schoolboy in the presence of his very strict headmistress.

Irina smiled a bit then took the musical sheets in Paris' hands. "What don't you understand?" She asked after a few minutes of studying the piece.

Paris leaned forward and pointed the part where she got inundated. Irina took the electric piano and started to play it.

When she finished, everyone was looking at her with surprise in their faces.

"Ms. Derevko… that was fantastic." Marshall said, awe-struck.

Irina smiled at him. "Paris is much, much better."" She replied then looked at Paris. "I think you're having a hard time because you're not wearing your eyeglasses." She said.

"No, I'm not." Paris answered, denying what her mother said.

"Wow, mom. You've played it so… well." Sydney said to Irina.

"I studied piano when I was a child. And I studied again when Paris started to play so that she won't be discouraged."

"Hmm…" Sydney replied as her glance flicked to her father. He seemed to be very absorbed with reviewing the mission.

"Uh… may I take a picture of you three together?" Marshall asked.

Sydney smiled. "Why?"

"Well… uh… I want to show my mom my beautiful co-workers that I've been telling her about... and I want to have a remembrance of this mission."

"But Mr. Flinkman, I'm not your co-worker." Irina interjected.

"Its okay, Ms. Derevko. You're the mother of my beautiful co-workers… I guess that count."

Paris and Sydney laughed. Irina smiled at him and joined her daughters in their seat.

"You know, Mr. Flinkman? You are absolutely charming." Paris said as Marshall readied his digital camera.

"Ready? One, two, three."

Mother and daughters smiled for the camera. For the men observing the scene, the three women looked so beautiful.

"I haven't said this before, but those women are absolutely gorgeous. You are so lucky. I now know why Jack fell for Irina." Weiss whispered to Vaughn. "And her genes are strong." He added in the same tone.

"Man, what will you do if you get to marry a woman that beautiful?" Weiss whispered to Vaughn after Irina stood up and went back to her seat.

Vaughn looked at him.

"Oh, was that a stupid question?" Weiss asked a bit jokingly. "You're going to marry her daughter, won't you?" he whispered.

"I'm not going to answer that question." Vaughn replied then returned his attention back to the documents in the folder. A little while later, he looked discreetly at the direction of Sydney. She was smiling at something Marshall said.

A smile appeared on his lips. 'Yeah. Weiss is right. I am going to marry her.'

Jack and Irina walked in the grand hall of the Aram Tour's building. They are Mr. and Mrs. Giambelli, he, being a powerful shipping magnate and she, being an heiress to a multi-billion dollar corporation.

The orchestra was playing Vivaldi. They can see Paris playing the piano together with some violinist. She was wearing a midnight blue gown and she's wearing a blonde wig.

They were escorted to their table. It seems that all eyes were on them. Frankly, who wouldn't, when Jack and Irina practically glowed with charm and allure? Upon reaching the empty table, it looks like the others will be having a late entrance.

Jack glanced at Irina. She was listening to the music.

He discreetly observed her. Irina's hair was up in a French twist and there were some loose locks framing her face. His gaze looked down and his eyes rested on the diamond necklace that which has C-4 in it. It has real diamonds.

"Too bad if you try to escape, that beautiful necklace will go to waste." Jack whispered to her ear.

"But I'm not." Irina murmured. A tingling sensation went through her as she felt Jack's nibble her ear. 'Did he just nibble my ear?' she thought as she took a deep breath then looked at him. Their faces were dangerously close to each other.

"What are you doing?" Irina whispered.

"Acting very affectionate." Jack replied softly. Then, he switched to the 'loving husband mode' again.

"You are so beautiful. Did you know that?" Jack said, in a stage whisper.

"You've told me that countless of times." She answered. Even if she knows that what Jack is saying is just an act, Irina's heart began to beat faster. She then looked at his lips.

'God, I want to kiss those luscious lips again.' She thought and reverted back her attention to the music. Paris was doing wonderfully well, despite the fact that she had a hard time understanding some of the movements.

Meanwhile, Sydney was being escorted to her table. To her surprise, she was tabled with Vaughn. Her mother and father's table were closer to the piano. She sat down next to him. Vaughn temporarily dyed his hair blonde and has a fake tan.

He looked devilishly handsome.

"Good Evening." He greeted as Sydney turned to him. Sydney was wearing a moss green gown, with a low cut at the back. She was also wearing a red wig.

"Good Evening." She answered.

"What is a beautiful woman like you, doing without an escort?" Vaughn asked. Sydney looked at him then gave a small smile.

"Everybody was just, so busy." Sydney answered. Vaughn smiled at her.

"I'm James Tyler." He said and offered hand. The setting was totally reverse, since it was widely known that the girl should offer her hand first in a handshake.

"Katrina Guerrero." Sydney said and shook his hand.

"Guerrero, as in, Guerrero the oil tycoon?" The man next to them said.

Sydney looked at the speaker. It was another CIA agent, a Mr. David Petersen.

"Yes. My father couldn't come and he asked me if I could stand-in for him." Sydney said. "And you are?"

"Oh, I'm sorry. I'm William Harper." Mr. Petersen answered. Sydney gave him a smile.

She then glanced at her father and mother's position. Her mother was laughing at something her dad said. She knows it all an act but it looked so… natural.

Vaughn glanced at her and found her looking at her parents.

"Fascinated with the Giambelli's?" Vaughn asked. Sydney looked at him.

"A bit… they're affectionate." Sydney answered. "The pianist is good, isn't she?" Sydney asked him, referring to Paris.

"Very good." Vaughn replied. Sydney smiled at him.

The night went on smoothly. The food and wine was overflowing and the agents tried hard not to enjoy it too much. There is a mission.

"I envy you guys. Bring back some food." Paris heard Weiss say in her com link. He and Marshall were in the van a seven hundred fifty meters away from the building.

"Who are you saying lucky? I've been playing the piano for almost three hours, nonstop." She whispered, still pressing the piano keys. Her fingers are getting tired.

"Well, you're playing it beautifully." Weiss answered. He looked at Marshall, who was also listening, while at the same time checking the videos.

"Tell her she's playing it like a pro." Marshall said as he watched the people in the room. They looked so… rich. And the Bristow's fit right in.

"Marshall says you play it like a pro."

"Thank you for the compliment." Paris whispered as she neared the end of the Blue Danube Waltz

"Okay, don't forget the food."

At twelve midnight, Aram Tour finally appeared, with a beautiful woman by his side.

"There's Aram." Irina whispered to Jack. They, together with the other couples, were dancing to the slow music.

"I see him." Jack whispered. Irina was 'behaved' the whole night. Well, there were a couple of teasing but it was fine, overall.

"Who's with him?" Jack asked.

"It's his girlfriend. Aram changes girlfriend as often as he changes clothes. But he makes a background check first, in case she might not be a fit mother for his two children." Irina answered. "Shall we go to him?" Irina asked.

"After this dance." Jack murmured as they glided gracefully across the dance floor.

A few minutes later, they walked towards Aram Tour's table.

"Hello, Aram." Irina greeted. Jack was standing behind her.

"Hmmm… you're here." Aram greeted as he stood up. He looked pleased. "I have something to tell you."

"I have something to tell you too." Irina said, smiling at him.

"Okay. Let's go to my office, then." Aram said. He recognized the man behind his friend.

The three of them slipped away quietly and went to Aram Tour's office.

"I thought you told me you're going to turn yourself to the CIA?" Aram asked as he closed the door to his majestic workplace.

"I'm still in CIA custody. Paris is working for them." Irina said.

"Hmm… have a seat. And how is your little girl?" Aram asked.

"She's fine. Still the same." Irina answered as she and Jack sat down. Jack was alert for any traps in case Aram Tour has already associated himself with Sloane.

"So, what are you going to tell me?" Aram asked.

"No, you first." Irina said and smiled a bit.

"Well… I'm engaged." Aram said. Irina smiled even wider.

"Wow, congratulations." Irina said. Aram nodded his head. He too, is smiling.

"Now, what are you going to tell me?" Aram asked.

"Well, first of all. The CIA received Intel reports that you're going to be kidnapped." Jack said. Aram Tour didn't looked shock at this revelation.

"So that's why there were a couple of CIA agents around." Aram said.

"How did you know?" Jack asked. Irina looked at him.

"Aram can spot a CIA agent a mile away." Irina said.

"Is this your husband?" Aram asked, looking at Jack interestedly.

"Ex-husband." Jack corrected.

"Anyway, Aram, these men work for Sloane."

"You mean Sloane the asshole? Despicable Arvin Sloane?!" Aram asked, a bit angry.

"Yeah. He wants you to work with him. That's why we're here. To stop your kidnapping and to ask you not to align yourself with him." Jack said.

"I will never align myself with Arvin Sloane. Never! He's a despicable son of a bxxch."

Irina nodded her head, understanding Aram's hatred towards the man.

"Oh, I heard this little rumor that he's after a Rambaldi artifact. The one he thinks is mine but is actually yours. A trusted aide gave me this." Aram said as he looked for something in his pile of papers. "Here," he said as he handed a folder to Irina.

"Those people have been in my cruise ship. They're booked until the cruise reaches Tunisia. I'll be boarding that cruise ship for my routine inspection here, in Italy. My aide told me they work for Arvin Sloane." Aram said.

Irina passed the folder to Jack. He looked at it. It was pictures of Sark, Lauren and MacKenas Cole. In some of the pictures, bodyguards accompanied them.

"This is what Dixon said." Jack muttered.

"What?" Irina asked.

"Nothing. Do you have any requests from the CIA, Mr. Tour? You are going against Sloane and The Covenant."

"Like what?" Aram asked.

"Like protection for your family. Those kinds of things." Jack said.

"Thank you for asking, but I have my own private army." Aram said jokingly.

"Well, then we'd better go, Aram." Irina said.

Aram Tour stood up and walked towards his friend. He kissed her in the cheek.

"It's nice to see you again, Irishka. I hope you board that cruise ship. I really want to give you back that Rambaldi artifact." Aram said to her.

"I don't think so, Aram. It's not my call." Irina said as they walked out of the office.

"Well, I hope you attend my wedding. I'll send the CIA an invitation." Aram said in a low voice. Irina gave a laugh.

"Okay. Have a wonderful wedding." Irina said and they left.

Jack looked at her as they went back the hall. It seems that the Sloane didn't go through with his plan.

"Sir, the kidnappers were apprehended a few meters outside of Aram Tour's office." Jack heard in his com link. _"Bluebird is waiting for you and Mountaineer and Boy Scout are in the extraction point."_

"We'll be there, in a few minutes." Jack said to his com link. Turning to Irina, he said, "Let's go. They're waiting for us."

A/N- crappy ending, I know... leave a review, the next chapter's nice


	14. chapter thirteen

DISCLAIMER: I do not own any of the character nor do I profit when I write stories about them. Thank you and have a nice day.

A/N Not so many reviews as I had hoped, but thanks for reading (that's for the people who read my story but doesn't really review…) Anyway, I hope you like this chapter. :D. Oh, and there will be no Nadia. NO NADIA! This is another "universe"

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CHAPTER THIRTEEN

"Here is your room, Mr. and Mrs. Jameson. Your daughter's room will be right next door. The captain and the crew of the ship hope that you will have a wonderful voyage with us."

"Thank you." Donovan Jameson aka Jack Bristow replied as the attendant smiled at him and closed the door.

"So, who's going to sleep on the bed?" Serena Jameson aka Irina, asked. The bed is situated in the middle of the room, draped with the marvelous color of moss green and large enough to hold four gigantic men. She went towards the bed sat down. She rested her body on the mountain of pillows behind her.

Jack shrugged. Dixon extended their mission, saying that they need to find out what Sark and the rest are up to.

"The bed's too big. If we promise to stay on our sides, then we wouldn't have a problem invading each other's personal spaces." Jack replied then looked at her. Irina, together with their daughters, dyed her hair black. She also wore hazel brown contact lenses.

"What?" Irina asked when she found Jack staring at her.

"Nothing." Jack replied and then sat on the other side of bed, opposite from Irina. He stretched his long body on the bed and leaned on the pillows. It was soft and feels like heaven. He's feeling sleepy already.

There was a knock on the door.

"Come in." Irina said. The door opened and in came Paris, wearing a silly smile on her face.

"Hi mom, dad. Wow, nice room." She remarked as she closed the door. She approached her parents. They look so much like a normal, married couple. But then, that's the façade they have to put up. Their cover is like the first one. A loving, happy couple married for thirty years.

"How's your room?" Irina asked.

"Nice." Paris said. She caught her appearance in the mirror and automatically touched her hair. It was black and wavy. "I think it has an adjoining door leading to your room." She said then sat at the edge of the bed.

"Where are Sydney and Vaughn?" Jack asked.

"Two rooms down here." Paris replied. "So, who's going to sleep on the floor?"

Irina raised a brow. "We both have decided to sleep on the bed, as long as we don't invade the other's personal space." She answered

"Hmm…" was Paris's only reply. She smiled at her mother and then looked at her watch. "I guess I better check for Mr. Sark and the rest of the gang." She said then stood up.

"Be careful." Jack said. His eyes were closed.

"Of course I'll be careful. See you later." Paris said and left the room.

Irina looked at Jack. He seemed oblivious that they were in the mission.

"We do have a job to do, you know."

It was so ironic. She's the criminal, whose only job is to assist the CIA agents, and she's the one who's reminding her "parole" officer that they have a job to do.

"They're not going anywhere." Jack mumbled. A few minutes later, he was asleep.

Irina stared at her ex-husband, perplexed at his behavior. She shrugged, and closed her eyes. She's also feeling tired from the last mission, even if what they did was only surveillance, dance and eat.

After a few minutes, she too, fell asleep.

-xxx-

Julian Sark is in the top deck, watching the beautiful blondes parading in front of him. He seems to be looking at them behind his dark sunglasses, but he's actually in another place, thinking of other things.

Allison joined him. She noticed Sark's silence.

"What are you thinking?" Allison asked. Sark gave an absent-minded reply.

"It's that girl, isn't it?" she said. Sark turned his head and looked at her.

"What?" he asked. He didn't understand what she asked.

"I said that girl. Paris?" she replied. Even if Sark's eyes were concealed, she could see from his body language that, that was bothering him.

"You know, ever since you found out she's alive, you've started acting like that on your free time." Allison commented.

"Acting like what?" Sark asked, his tone, a bit challenging.

"Acting like a love sick puppy."

"I am not acting like a love sick puppy!" Sark replied, a bit defensive. "Paris is my friend." He added.

"_Was_. Past tense, Julian." Allison pointed out.

"Whatever." Sark replied. He knows that Allison is jesting with him. He took off his sunglasses and looked directly in her eyes.

"Don't tell Lauren."

Allison smirked. "I wouldn't tell that woman anything. She's too attached to you. Like a leech."

Sark grinned with the description. He and Allison have a history together but they both agreed that it will never work out between them. That was after Sydney shot her again and escaping from the clutches of the CIA EMT's

"We'll have dinner later?" Allison asked.

"Yeah, together with Mr. Cole and Ms. Reed." Sark answered.

Allison sighed and then stood up.

"Keep your eyes off the blondes Julian, they will remind you too much of the leech."

-xxx-

"Hi, where have you three been?" Sydney asked Weiss, Marshall and Paris. She and Vaughn have checked the ship for signs of Lauren, Sark, Allison and Mackenas Cole. They saw Allison, but lost sight of her quickly.

"We got tired of exploring the ship." Paris answered in a perfect American accent. She's Sydney's sister, Vaughn's her brother-in-law and Weiss and Marshall are their newfound friends.

"Yeah. Luke treated us in the bar." Weiss answered, referring to Marshall's alias, Luke Simmons. His alias is Mark Simmons, Luke's brother.

"Uh, okay." Sydney said and smiled at them. "Paige, have you seen mom and dad?" Sydney asked Paris. Paige is Paris's alias.

"I left them inside their room. That was about… three hours ago." Paris answered after looking at her watch. "I think they're asleep. They looked pretty tired when I last saw them."

Sydney shrugged then looked at Vaughn, who also shrugged. She leaned forward and whispered something to his ear. "This mission is going nowhere."

"Yeah, I know." Vaughn whispered back.

"Hey, what are you two lovebirds whispering about? We're here too, you know." Weiss said jokingly. Vaughn looked at him and grinned.

"Uh, guys, do you want something to drink?" Marshall asked. He was telling Paris about the first milestones in his son's, Mitchell, life.

"No, were fine." Sydney and Vaughn said simultaneously.

"Wow, they're really acting like a married couple." Weiss whispered to Paris. Paris laughed.

"You should see mom and dad." Paris replied. Just as then, an attractive, lanky blonde caught her eye. She recognized him because it was Sark.

"Sark alert." Paris hissed. The agents discreetly turned to where she is facing. True enough they saw Sark talking to a blonde woman in the bar. He didn't seem to notice them.

"Paige, why not get us those drinks Luke offered?" Sydney asked Paris.

"Why me?" Paris replied.

"Because you're the nearest?" Vaughn answered. Truth be told, they want Paris to get closer to Sark because they know she's the only one whom Sark will not harm if ever he sees her.

"Fine." Paris said and hastily stood up. She stealthily went towards the bar and tried very hard to blend in the background. But she failed. Sark saw her and immediately walked towards her.

"Lila, this is my girlfriend." Sark said and ushered her near the table. Paris looked at him, confused. He pretended to nibble Paris' ear but actually whispered, "Please, play along. She's a witch."

Paris's eyes went from confusion to genuine warmth. "Hi. I'm Paige." She said without the British accent and looked at Lila interestedly. "What are you doing, honey?" She asked, turning to Sark.

"Uh, Lila's a friend." Sark said and then turned to the blonde woman. "Lila, Paige and I have to go." He said politely and lightly kissed Paris on the lips.

Sydney, Vaughn, Weiss and Marshall just watched in shock, as Paris and Sark acted like a normal, happy, loving, young couple on a vacation.

Paris and Sark smiled at Lila and kept that smile plastered on their faces until she disappeared in the crowd.

Paris's smile turned sour. "Now, what the hell was that all about?" She hissed as she turned to Sark.

"I should be asking you that. What the hell are you doing here?" Sark answered, careful not to cause a scene.

"Duh."

Sark looked at his friend. She dyed her hair black but its still seems soft to touch. He reached out and gently tugged her hair. "Your hair is black."

Paris was going to retort something when Sark continued. "I like it."

She just looked at him and rolled her eyes. "I have to go." Paris said and started to walk away from him.

Paris walked past Sydney, Vaughn, Marshall and Weiss and went directly to her room. Anger, embarrassment and guilt circled her head. She's angry that Sark's here. She's embarrassed because Sark kissed her and guilty because she was very rude to him.

"I am so confused!"


End file.
